We must halve pesticide use or insect numbers will ‘collapse’
PESTICIDE use must be halved in a decade to save Britain’s insects from a population “collapse”, experts claimed yesterday.
They also said everyone needs to play their part by planting flowers, building habitats for insects such as log piles and leaving parts of their garden to grow wild.
Unless urgent action is taken there is mounting evidence, they said, that insect populations are close to collapse.
The Wildlife Trusts’ report, Reversing The Decline Of Insects, said Britain needs at least 30 per cent of land protected for nature.
Insects are a vital part of the wildlife food chain while bumblebees, honey bees, butterflies and hoverflies perform a vital pollination service for agriculture worth about £700million a year, according to a Reading University study.
But insects have been hit by a loss of habitat, with 97 per cent of the UK’s wildflower-rich meadows vanishing since the 1930s.
They have been ploughed up for crops or converted to less natural pasture. Meanwhile 87 per cent of wetlands have also gone.
The report also said 16,900 tonnes of pesticides were applied to the countryside every year, and there was also spraying in towns, cities and gardens.
Most British species of butterflies have declined since 1976 and one third of our wild bees and hoverflies are in trouble.
The Trusts called for pesticide use to be halved by 2030.
Its report was written Professor Dave Goulson of University of Sussex.
He said: “If we get it right for insects we get it right for everything else. Insects are the canaries in the coal mine – their collapse is an alarm bell we must not ignore.
“Action is needed from every section of society – we all need to change this together.”
The report was released as the Government’s Agriculture Bill passes through Parliament and just as Britain escapes the controls by the of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy.
But there are fears that postBrexit trade deals, particularly with America, could lead to a weakening of pesticide standards.
The Wildlife Trusts chief executive Craig Bennett said: “In my lifetime 41 per cent of UK wildlife species have suffered strong or moderate decreases in numbers and insects have suffered most.
“The Agriculture Bill is a golden opportunity to set high standards in law and make sure insect-friendly farming practices are rewarded.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it is reviewing the National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides which will focus on the development of “integrated pest management” and of alternatives to pesticides.