Loss of bees and butterflies is disturbing the ecological balance

Loss of bees, butterflies and other insects is disturbing the ecological balance and food supply of the world is under serious treat. The UN has warned that the plummeting numbers of bees, butterflies and other insect populations are not only playing havoc with the world food supplies but, livelihoods of millions are at risk all over the world.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 28 February 2016.

In a first-of-its-kind global assessment of creatures that pollinate crops it has been found that up to two in five of the species are moving towards extinction. The reasons are pesticides, urbanization, intensive farming, disease and climate changes. These have posed threats to apples, blueberries, coffee, chocolate and other crops worth up to £400billion a year.
The food sector provides millions of jobs, while the vitamins and minerals in key crops help to ward off malnutrition and keep it at bay. Hence, it is important that the health of pollinators is taken care of - they are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security and their health and well being is directly linked to our own well-being.
As per records, in Europe, 9 per cent of bee and butterfly species are under threat of extinction. Two of the UK's 25 bumblebee species have died out since the start of the century and the number of honeybees has halved since the 1980s. Britain's butterflies are also in decline, with numbers almost halving in the past 40 years.
It is possible to reverse the trend and, in order to do that, organic farming must be encouraged apart from planting patches of wild flowers to attract pollinators to crops, and also reducing use of pesticides.
Delegates from 124 nations approved the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report in Kuala Lumpur.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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