Recognising the need for immediate actions to halt and reverse the dramatic loss of wild pollinators, the European Commission recently presented 'A New Deal for Pollinators' revising the 2018 EU Pollinators Initiative. The revised Pollinators Initiative sets objectives for 2030 and related actions under three priorities:

I: Improving knowledge of pollinator decline, its causes and consequences

II: Improving pollinator conservation and tackling the causes of their decline

III: Mobilising society and promoting strategic planning and cooperation at all levels

The Initiative uses the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers”, which demanded a transition towards more bee-friendly agriculture, as an example of the calls for decisive action to address pollinator decline. It goes on to highlight the threat posed by the decline of pollinators to both human well-being and nature, undermining long-term agricultural productivity. 

Thus, under its Priority II, the revised EU Pollinators Initiative sets out to “Restore pollinator habitats in agricultural landscapes”. Specifically, it aims to:

• Continuously increase support for pollinator-friendly farming under the common agricultural policy (CAP), expecting Member States to develop and implement targeted interventions to reverse the decline of pollinators in agricultural landscapes by 2030, as part of the CAP and other relevant instruments.

• Encourage Member States to share best practices and organise coordination activities under the current CAP by 2027 to facilitate the design and uptake of effective instruments that benefit pollinators. 

• Continuously enhance the capacity of farm advisory services for pollinator conservation and restoration. 

• By 2026, develop a pollinator indicator with a view to integrate it into the CAP’s performance monitoring and evaluation framework, once the EU pollinator monitoring scheme (EU-PoMS) is sufficiently implemented. 

SHOWCASE welcomes these actions under the new EU Pollinators Initiative which will contribute to the EU's progress towards protecting pollinators and ensuring food security and ecosystem resilience. It complements the EC’s proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal.

Photo: Bee on a sunflower.