Seminar 28 October: National Pollinator Strategy

Several members of the British Ecological Society will speak at a seminar in Parliament on 28th October, on the National Pollinator Strategy. This event is being organised by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and takes place from 16.00-18.00 in the Jubilee Room, Palace of Westminster.

Contact postevents@parliament.uk to attend

Food security and environmental resilience are threatened by the decline of pollinator species, such as bees. This seminar considers the evidence base for Defra’s approach to the problem: the National Pollinator Strategy.

In England, there are approximately 1,500 insect species that pollinate food crops and wild plants, including bees, hoverflies, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles and moths. Many of these are declining from multiple pressures, such as the intensification of land-use and habitat loss. England’s National Pollinator Strategy aims to address these and other pressures by providing advice on pollinator conservation, improving the evidence base for conservation and implementing a monitoring scheme. The draft Strategy has been assessed by the Environmental Audit Committee, which has suggested that to be effective, it needs further clarity in the approach to Integrated Pest Management, greater integration with the Common Agricultural Policy, and transparency of research into pesticide impacts. A delivery plan is due to be published within six months of the Strategy. This seminar considers the evidence used to inform measures likely to be set out in the delivery plan.

 Programme

4.00pm Sarah Newton MP, Chair’s Welcome

4.10pm Presentations
Prof. Simon Potts, Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, The University of Reading
Dr. Christopher Connolly, Reader in Neuroscience, University of Dundee
Prof. Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology, University of Bristol
Dr. Adam Vanbergen, Invertebrate Ecologist, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

5.10pm Discussion

5.40pm Chair’s closing remarks

5.45pm Refreshments

6.00pm Close

Further information.