We have been hearing warnings for years about the global collapse of populations of bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Until now, the debate had often focused in terms of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, but now a new and pioneering study has just shown that this ecological crisis goes much further by pointing out that the decline of insects is already directly impacting human nutrition, becoming a very important food security issue.
It is being analyzed. Although some people may wish that these insects would end up disappearing because they disgust them, the reality is that it is not the best of ideas. Here the key piece of this new alert is a study published in Nature that quantified the real and tangible impact that the lack of pollinators has on the environment.
What has been seen? The team here analyzed the daily life of 10 agricultural villages in Nepal for a year and cross-referenced data on the abundance and diversity of pollinating insects in the area, the exact yields of their crops and, most importantly, the nutritional status of the inhabitants.
Once all this information was cross-referenced, the results indicated that pollinators are directly responsible for approximately 44% of the agricultural income of these communities. But the most critical data is in the diet, since insects guarantee more than 20% of the intake of vitamin A, E and folate. And, as pollination decreases, harvests of fruits, vegetables and seeds rich in these micronutrients fall drastically, leaving communities exposed to nutritional deficiencies.
A great crisis. To understand the magnitude of this finding, we must look at the global trend, often dubbed in the scientific community and in the media as the “insect apocalypse.” In this case, in 2019 a study set off alarm bells by estimating that 40% of insect species worldwide are in decline. And the data pointed to massive drops in the number of flying insects in parts of Germany and also in the forest of Puerto Rico.
And logically, this global disappearance has consequences, since insects are the basis of countless food webs and essential for nutrient recycling and pollination. Globally, it is estimated that approximately three-quarters of the world’s food crops depend to some extent on animal pollination.
Why do they disappear? Science is clear that intensive land use and climate change are very important factors when it comes to explaining why these insects are declining. And the regions that suffer the worst declines in insect abundance and diversity are, paradoxically, those with intensive agriculture and little remaining natural habitat, aggravated by rising temperatures.
In the end, we are facing a true vicious circle, since the habitat of insects is destroyed and pesticides are also used massively to produce more food, but in doing so we annihilate the very pollinators on which the profitability and quality of those same crops depends.
Is there a solution? Here the escape route specified by the research points to the need to plant strips of native flowers around the crops to ensure constant food for pollinators. Furthermore, transitioning towards agricultural models that do not indiscriminately poison our allies is also essential.
Images | wirestock at Magnific
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