Most European Wild Bee Species in Decline as UN Biodiversity Summit Opens

The richness of bee and hover fly species fell persistently in the Atlantic and Continental regions, while trends in other regions were mixed or even positive, according to the study, which covers 88% of bee and hover fly species across the continent. The scientists said the data suggest pollinator communities have been reshaped by the “gradual loss of sensitive species and the rise of a resilient few” and warned of “deeper functional disruptions” if existing trends were not addressed.

Nearly 90% of wild flowering plants and more than three-quarters of major food crop types depend in part on animal pollination. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that pollinator decline sets off a chain reaction that threatens wildlife and weakens ecosystems’ ability to withstand climate change and environmental stress.

Carlos Martínez-Núñez, an ecologist at the Spanish National Research Council and lead author of the study, said the findings showed biodiversity loss could remain hidden behind apparently stable species numbers, “giving us a crucial opportunity to act before further declines occur.” He added: “The fact that some species are increasing today does not mean they will remain winners as climate change and habitat loss intensify.”

The summit, known as Cop17, is focused on conservation and sustainable use of the natural world and the shared benefits of its genetic resources. It is expected to assess progress toward this decade’s targets, which include protecting 30% of land and sea, reforming $500bn of environmentally damaging subsidies and restoring 30% of the planet’s degraded ecosystems.

The study found 91% of the species logged over the last century had also been recorded at least once between 2001 and 2020. Although that suggests as many as 9% of species could have been wiped out in Europe, many of the species not spotted recently occur only rarely in the historical record, and the researchers said they “do not expect widespread extinctions to have occurred yet.” Species’ occupancy — the probability of being found at a given site — had mostly fallen.

Ainhoa Magrach, an environmental researcher at the Basque Centre for Climate Change who was not involved in the study, said it “confirms what has long been suspected: many pollinator species are losing populations, and the decline is not affecting all of them equally.” She said most evidence had come from a few north-western European countries such as the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, and that the work shows the pattern extends across the continent, although some regional differences exist.

Wildlife is dying out at an unprecedented rate as humans destroy habitats, spray pesticides and drive climate change with planet-heating pollution, The Guardian reported. Despite consequences for food systems and the climate, governments have not met a single UN target on nature since the biodiversity convention was created in Rio in 1992, the report said.