The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-10368, in the name of Angus MacDonald, on Scotland’s pollinator population. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament acknowledges that pollinators are essential to healthy ecosystems in Falkirk East and across the rest of the country but are fragile and can therefore be easily damaged or diminished; believes that there should be sustainable populations of all pollinators and notes calls for society to save and sustain them; understands that the principles highlighted in the Buglife manifesto, Get Britain Buzzing, call for action by the Scottish Government to develop and implement action plans, coordinate pollinator monitoring programmes, reduce pesticides that harm pollinators and conserve pollinator species while maintaining places for pollinators to feed and breed; notes the recent ban on damaging pesticides, and notes calls for similar work emphasising the importance of sustaining pollinators for Scotland’s agricultural and horticultural economies.
12:34
I am delighted to have secured this debate, which acknowledges the importance of pollinator species to the agricultural and horticultural industries of Scotland. I thank all the members who signed my motion and who support the cause, and those who have stayed to contribute to the debate. I realise that it is all very hectic at the moment, so their time is appreciated.
I note that, sadly, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Minister for Environment and Climate Change have been called away on other business, but I am pleased to see the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Roseanna Cunningham, standing in, as I know that she has taken a keen interest in the issue in the past in her previous life as an environment minister.
As a member of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, I have become increasingly aware of the challenges that Scotland’s pollinators face. I thank Craig Macadam of Buglife—the Invertebrate Conservation Trust and Dr Maggie Keegan of the Scottish Wildlife Trust for their help and advice on the subject, which is more complex the more we investigate it.
Buglife actively works to conserve the 40,000 invertebrate species in the United Kingdom, many of which are under threat as never before. Invertebrates from bees to beetles are vital to our planet and precious ecosystem. They underpin life on earth and are therefore pivotal for our own survival.
Insect-pollinated crops rely on invertebrates to carry pollen from one flower to the other, producing crops for many fruits, nuts and seeds. Buglife estimates that 84 per cent of European Union crops rely on insect pollination. To put that into perspective, it is estimated that every third mouthful of food that is consumed could be linked to pollination by bees.
Insect-pollinated fruits and vegetables that are grown in Scotland contribute significantly to our economy as well as to our ecosystem. For example, the output value of vegetables in 2012 was £102 million, and the figure for fruits was £62 million. In addition, the pollination that is provided by insect pollinators to wildflowers and garden ornamentals makes insect pollinators a vital component of our great biodiversity in Scotland.
Without pollinators, we could see a depletion of the foods that we grow and the beauty that we see in our wider countryside. Pollinator insects ensure food security and the continuation of biodiversity across Scotland. However, the fragility of pollinator populations means that, if they are not cared for, they will be easily damaged or diminished, or can become dysfunctional. The decline of pollinator insects in recent years is not easily determined by a single driving force, but has been caused by a multiplicity of factors, including environmental pressures, pests and diseases—for example, reductions in wildflowers, the intensification of land use, fertilisation, and harmful pesticides.
Unfortunately, I know a bit about harmful pesticides, having used without proper protection the organophosphate pesticide carbofuran on my father’s farm in the Western Isles when I was younger. I have paid the price health-wise. Carbofuran has long since been banned, but it is still used illegally to kill birds of prey.
That said, it is neonicotinoids that seem to have had a major impact on bees, so it is encouraging that the EU has imposed a two-year ban on them. Ideally, a permanent ban in Scotland would help pollinators such as bees to recover, it is argued, although, as the NFU Scotland highlighted in its briefing, any ban should be based on realistic field-based research.
Over the past 50 years, declines have been noted in the number of not only many pollinator insects but wildflowers across our countryside. The sustainability of the ecosystem depends on maintaining pollinator populations and their habitats. That is why the EU’s integrated pest management directive is so important. If we want our future generations to live in a Scotland that is buzzing—excuse the pun—with vitality and rich in foods and flowers, we must act now to preserve our landscapes and save our precious pollinators from extinction.
In “Get Britain Buzzing: A Manifesto for Pollinators”, Buglife outlined seven key principles that can guide our battle in rescuing our valued ecosystem, and 27 actions that can arrest the alarming decline of the pollinator population. Principally, all pollinators should be valued for the service that they provide to Scotland. They should also be properly monitored and understood, and there should be a commitment to conserve and incorporate them in our green infrastructure.
Unfortunately, I do not have time to list all the principles and actions that Buglife is calling for, but I commend “Get Britain Buzzing: A Manifesto for Pollinators” to members. If members would like to contact me, I can provide them with a copy of it.
Good work has already been done. I congratulate the Government on the excellent work that it has done so far in undertaking initiatives to halt bee decline over the past few years. For example, there was the Scottish Government project in 2009 that invested up to £10 million in research to help to identify the main threats to bees and other insect pollinators. Government-backed agri-environment schemes that have offered payments to farmers to help them to maintain flower-rich areas for bees and other wildlife have also been an encouraging step forward in sustaining our pollinator habitat.
Recently—in June this year—the Scottish Parliament welcomed a new buzz to this busy and hectic environment by installing two beehives on site, demonstrating the real and practical way in which the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament have been committed to the nation’s environment. I am sure that other speakers will touch on our Parliament bees during the debate.
Not literally—they would get stung.
Yes. I am not asking members to do that personally.
Although previous actions that have been taken are commendable, we must do more to address this serious issue. The Government actions that have been prescribed must be taken in conjunction with a responsibility for local government, for example, to facilitate initiatives in their areas that preserve Scottish wildlife and conserve our pollinator population.
As MSP for Falkirk East, I have seen at first hand in my constituency the great work that communities can undertake. The Jupiter urban wildlife centre is a fantastic example of how wildlife can be preserved. What is unique about the centre is that it is an urban green space that has been created from wasteland in the middle of industrial Grangemouth. My constituents, together with non-governmental organisations, have done an excellent job in constructing a reserve that both facilitates pollinator populations and encourages the community to invest in sustaining the pollinator habitat. Providing both educational and community resources, the Jupiter urban wildlife centre is an invaluable hub that we hope to see replicated in many other parts of Scotland. I very much look forward to visiting the centre tomorrow morning to officially open, along with local schoolchildren, the upgraded wildlife gardens there.
In closing, I encourage all my fellow MSPs to add their support to the Buglife cause. Collapses in pollinator populations in China and parts of the United States have had big and visible impacts on their ecosystems and economies, but Scotland could lead the way in conservation and the sustenance of pollinators if we choose to act now and refuse to let species struggle to survive. Our rich, beautiful and vast countryside and vegetation depend on us to actively work to protect them. I therefore hope that stakeholders, including scientists, farmers, regulators, beekeepers and environmental NGOs will all work together to ensure that Scottish farming and bees can co-exist and have a sustainable future.
Many thanks. I have a number of requests to speak. If members could keep to their four minutes, I will try to call everyone.
12:42
I am delighted that the Parliament can still find time this week to discuss issues other than the referendum, because yes or no, we will still all need to eat.
Securing the health of our pollinator population really is at the foundation of our agriculture. The stark stats in the Buglife briefing tell us that 84 per cent of EU crops rely on insect pollinators. We can sometimes suffer from a focus on direct economic gain in this area, and we really must widen that. Many of the efforts that I have seen to look after the health of bees end up with a focus on honey bees. Honey bees and the beekeeping, honey-producing economy are important, but we must not be tricked into thinking that keeping the honey bees healthy means that we will be keeping our pollinator population at large healthy. The majority of pollination is by wild pollinators such as bumblebees or the 250 other species of bee in the UK, as well as flies, moths, wasps, beetles and butterflies. Many of our pollinators are in crisis, and that is no surprise when they have lost so much natural habitat in the past 60 years, including 97 per cent of wildflower meadows.
Pollination is one of those processes that are largely hidden from the public consciousness. The insects just get on with it and we enjoy the fruits, flowers and food of their labour. However, if we lose our pollinators, we might lose many of the plants that they pollinate and the animals that rely on them. The impact on the food chain would make sustaining the global human population massively challenging.
The campaign over the past few years to ban neonicotinoids—a highly damaging class of neurotoxins—was heartening but also infuriating. Millions of people joined organisations such as the Scottish Wildlife Trust and others to protect our pollinators after scientific evidence showed the effect that such nerve agents were having on pollinators, and the EU has put in place a temporary two-year ban for three of the most damaging insecticides. However, the big pesticide companies such as Bayer CropScience and Syngenta are continuing with cynical attempts to pursue short-term profit at the expense of the health of the agricultural economy, and indeed our health.
The precautionary principle states:
“Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”
As Friends of the Earth says, our pollinators are seriously
“under assault from pesticides and intensive farming.”
We do not know what will happen after the two-year ban is up, but along with my colleague Angus MacDonald I urge the cabinet secretary to continue the ban that is currently in place. I would also welcome a response from the Government to the Buglife pollinator manifesto and would like to know what steps the Government will take to ensure that the planning process helps to create and manage a network of pollinator habitats.
12:45
I am glad to be able to take part in this debate on Scotland’s pollinator population and I thank Angus MacDonald for securing it. As he said, it depends on us. I also thank the SWT and Buglife—their representatives are in the gallery—for their work.
I declare an interest, as I am a species champion for the Forester moth—which is one of the many pollinators in Scotland—whose habitat I visited earlier this summer.
Like many environmental causes that come before the Scottish Parliament, protecting biodiversity—in this case, specifically pollinators—enjoys broad cross-party support. The issue has certainly been very important to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee. I believe that that support has allowed us to move forward and address the concerning decline in pollinator numbers that is being highlighted today. Indeed, as Angus MacDonald said, the Scottish Parliament has taken steps in our own backyard, as it might be called, to promote the importance of pollinators through the new bee hives.
In my own South Scotland region, as in other parts of Scotland, there are a number of reserves that play an important role in conserving pollinator populations. The Falls of Clyde, Garrion Gill and the Upper Nethan gorge all contain essential grassland areas that host many of Scotland’s most productive pollinators, including various species of bees and butterflies. Such pollinator-friendly environments should act as prime examples of what communities and farmers can do to preserve pollinator numbers and improve biodiversity in general. As we heard, there are also some examples in urban environments, such as the Jupiter project to which Angus MacDonald referred. We can all make a difference individually. As MSPs we can encourage our constituents to do that by planting in gardens of whatever size and even in window boxes.
Of course, we are all aware of the huge contribution that pollinators make to Scotland as a whole. Those insects play a central role in crop production, as Alison Johnstone said, contributing roughly £43 million to the economy, as well as helping Scotland’s rich ecosystems to flourish. However, as pointed out in Angus MacDonald’s motion, that vital role is being put in danger. There has been as much as a 65 per cent decrease in certain pollinator populations over recent decades. I am sure that members will agree that we all have a responsibility to do something about that.
A large factor in the decline of pollinator numbers is of course the overuse of pesticides. The Scottish Wildlife Trust in particular has been campaigning for a moratorium on neonics so that the evidence base regarding their impact can be built up. As we have heard, that view has been taken on board by the EU, which has recently imposed a two-year ban—but only on three types of neonicotinoid. Of course, pesticides are used for a reason, but it is important that they are used in a sustainable manner and only when required, rather than being applied to seeds before they are planted.
We must identify alternative methods of protecting crops from pests through an integrated pest management plan. That is now an obligation on EU member states; perhaps the minister will be able to provide us with details of how the Scottish Government is addressing that obligation. Can she also indicate whether there are plans to have a ban in Scotland on neonicotinoids, given the risk of the ban in the EU being only temporary and ceasing to exist after 2015? We heard from Angus MacDonald about research that the Scottish Government has already done, and it would be very helpful if the minister could let us know what research is going on in Scotland.
The minister will be aware that the Scottish Wildlife Trust has made suggestions on how to protect pollinators within the common agricultural policy, including providing funds for farmers to provide ecosystem services. I believe that those suggestions merit further consideration.
I hope that the debate will help to draw attention to the importance of pollinators and the contribution that they make not only to our economy but to the vibrant and wonderful colours of all types of habitats in Scotland. I believe that we must all contribute to making the situation better for the pollinators’ habitats.
12:50
I congratulate Angus MacDonald on securing the debate. His previous members’ business debate was on potatoes; this is on pollinators. He can move off the letter P and on to something else.
I will touch on the Parliament bees—not physically, of course. I have found out that the much-praised bees in our hives here at the Parliament are Buckfast bees, which are known
“for their calm temperament and productivity"—
perhaps not attributes associated with their political neighbours in this building.
It is of course an unfortunate name, although it is linked to their breeding history and in no way predicates the taste of their honey—perhaps regrettably. By the way, they may not remain so friendly. I understand that if they are within 3 miles of other bees they will subsequently mate with a different species, being somewhat promiscuous. Some beekeepers recommend that the queen—not Her Royal Highness, that is, but the queen bee—is changed every year.
I am launching a plea and a criticism at one and the same time. The big question is why the Scottish Parliament hives were not populated by the indigenous and under threat Scottish black bee, which I am advised was wrongly labelled as aggressive. Not all things Scottish are aggressive. I have a proverbial—wait for it—bee in my bonnet about this. The minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment know that, because I corresponded with them some time ago on this matter on behalf of apiarists in my constituency, in particular Joyce Jack of Peebles, who is secretary of the Newbattle Beekeepers Association and my unofficial tutor in all things bee connected. She alerted me to and educated me on the threat to the indigenous species from imports. Mrs Jack is in the gallery today, so I must be particularly careful with my facts.
As in “Blackadder”, my beekeepers have a cunning plan, and a good one at that, especially after the decimation of hives a few years back through bad winters and springs. The plan was to provide local beekeepers—after training—to increase the Scottish black bee population through breeding queens. That can be done—you learn something every day—by artificial insemination, although I think from correspondence with the cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead that it is more coyly referred to as artificial instrumentation. It is done in other countries and, although it takes time, it is very cost effective.
I recognise the black bee project on Colonsay, which is to be welcomed. It need not stop there and I hope that the Scottish Government will again consider the proposal from individual beekeepers.
In the meantime, although there is a requirement to ensure that imported bees do not import viruses, councils and the public can be encouraged to plant spaces with bee-friendly wild flowers and cultivars, such as buddleia and sedum, to assist not just the honey and bumblebees but the insect population at large.
Honey is not the only product, of course. My tomato flowers are pollinated by bees and insects and give me fresh and tasty tomatoes, and the bird life in my garden thrives on the supply of fresh insect protein.
I will mention the referendum. Once the Buckfast bees have outlived their stay or migrated to form another hive, can we give the Scottish black bee a chance? Perhaps on September 19th—that will do, as a patriotic gesture.
12:54
In every language under the sun and in every generation since time began, the importance of birds and bees has been emphasised. That has been echoed by poets, including Robbie Burns, because birds and bees are the things that keep our humanity and our world going.
The role of pollinators to the economy and environment is vital and makes the decline of a broad variety of pollinators a matter of huge concern. I congratulate Angus MacDonald on bringing such an important topic to the Parliament.
I am proud to declare that I am a species champion for the marsh fritillary butterfly, which unfortunately has been in decline for the past 150 years due to loss of habitat and parasites. That is only one of the many examples of pollinators whose existence is under severe threat.
Pollinators such as honey bees and bumblebees play a key role in the majority of ecosystems. They are essential for parts of our agricultural economy. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of all food worldwide, 71 are animal pollinated. The number for Europe is even higher, at 84 per cent, valued at £12.6 billion per year. The production value of pollinator-dependent crops is roughly five times higher than that of crops that are not dependent on insects. That shows our reliance on pollinators, thus making the decline of those species a matter of huge concern. Governments should have a plan bee.
Although it is hard to determine accurately the precise economic benefit that pollinators provide, they have a very significant impact. Their role in the commercial production of soft fruit, such as raspberries and blackberries, as well as oil-seed rape, to mention just a few, cannot be overestimated.
Unfortunately, the trend in Scotland is clear: the abundance of pollinators has gradually declined over the past 50 years. That has especially been the case for bumblebees, which are the only pollinator of potato flowers in the world. Scotland’s potato crop is estimated to be worth £160 million, so the decline of a staggering 60 per cent in the abundance of bumblebees must be very concerning for us.
Other reasons for the decline involve the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitat. The European Union demands that all farmers set aside 5 per cent of their land for “greening”, which falls under the first pillar of the common agricultural policy. It is important that a compromise is found that ensures that there is enough natural habitat for our pollinators to not only survive but flourish, while ensuring the sustainability and successes of our agricultural production.
The sources of decline are many and diverse, as well as differing between different species of pollinators. Other invasive species, such as parasitic mites, are in themselves a major threat to apiculture; they also spread a number of diseases. They have decimated honey bee colonies across the world, from the middle east and Japan to Europe and the US, where up to 85 per cent of colonies have been wiped out due to mites or diseases spread by them.
It is important to find the balance between environmental interests and commercial interests, but it is clear that we must take urgent action to avoid widespread environmental and economic implications. We must take heed of this warning, which is like the canary in the coalmine.
On a note of perhaps slight optimism, my local pharmacist told me that there has been an explosion in the number of stings by bees and wasps this summer. So, if we get stung, we must remember to be thankful for small mercies and for small things.
I will conclude with a quote from the United Nations Environment Programme:
“The health and well-being of pollinating insects are crucial to life, be it in sustaining natural habitats or contributing to local and global economies.”
Thank you, Mr McGrigor. That makes me feel better about the sting that I got at the weekend. I call Liam McArthur, to be followed by Rob Gibson.
12:58
Like others, I thank Buglife Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and, in particular, Angus MacDonald for playing the invaluable role of keeping this issue on the parliamentary agenda. It is a role that was performed in the previous Parliament by my good friend and former fellow Highlands and Islands MSP Peter Peacock, who seemed to delight in standing up for invertebrates, as he said. He almost became his party’s spokesman for the birds and the bees and I think that he would unequivocally have welcomed the bee hives in the parliamentary complex, although he would probably have drawn the line at volunteering to artificially inseminate any of them.
On the importance of bumblebees, honey bees and other pollinating inspects, I recall that in the debate that we had on this issue in 2009 we heard fairly striking figures. Some 84 per cent of EU crops are pollinated by insects, 80 per cent of wild flowers depend on insect pollination and two out of every three mouthfuls of food that we eat come from plants pollinated by all pollinating insects, which is even more than Angus MacDonald suggested.
Therefore, the fact that numbers have dropped so dramatically—I think that the figure is around 60 per cent for the bumblebee population over the past 50 years—matters a great deal. It matters economically, as members said, and it matters environmentally—Alison Johnstone reminded us of the need to maintain biodiversity. It should therefore matter politically, and if further persuasion is needed on that, I point to the mention in the SWT’s briefing of a YouGov poll that found that 85 per cent of people put the issue right at the top of the environmental agenda.
The decline in bee numbers is not unique to Scotland or the UK. It appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. The reasons for the decline are complex and include the loss of floral diversity and nesting habitat, climate change, the presence of invasive non-native species, intensive farming practices and the impact of pesticides. Like other members, I welcome the ban on neonics over the next two years. There is an argument for going further, but in the meantime the rules on sustainable use of pesticides and the guidance on integrated pest management are welcome steps forward.
The two-year ban also presents an opportunity for research into alternative practices. I would be interested to hear from the minister what might be achieved through the new CAP rules in relation to greening requirements and agri-environment schemes—she might ask her ministerial colleague to write to us on that in due course. Research is an area in which Scotland can probably punch above its weight, through the Moredun Research Institute and the James Hutton Institute. I understand that researchers at Newcastle University are looking at ways of bringing together natural toxin from spider venom and plant protein to produce an insect-specific pesticide. Excellent research is going on.
I was struck by a couple of initiatives to which the SWT referred. The SWT’s flying flock of sheep and herd of cattle, which are used to lightly graze trust reserves and thereby help to maintain habitat, conjure up all kinds of images—there is no sign yet of a flying litter of pigs. The trust runs demonstrations on gardening for wildlife. We all have a role to play in that regard, and with all due modesty I will claim some success, given the explosion of rampant nettles, thistles and other assorted plants in the land around my house, which has created a number of no-go zones for humans but a haven for bees.
Orkney is fortunate to be one of the few parts of the UK that can still lay claim to having great yellow bumblebees in some numbers, but bee populations in Orkney are under threat. The honey bee population is under threat from the varroa mite. The minister will know from experience in her previous role that the protection that was afforded previously by the islands’ not having statutory infected area status has been lost, but I still think that the Pentland Firth is an ideal barrier to a variety of animal and insect diseases and that even a voluntary ban on the import of hives and bees could mean that the destruction caused by the varroa mite and other diseases is less of a problem in future, although such an approach will not be easy. I hope that the minister will encourage her colleagues to take the matter forward.
I congratulate Angus MacDonald on securing the debate and giving us a bit of a breather from matters constitutional. Einstein is supposed to have said that if the bees go, mankind will follow within four years, which perhaps puts into perspective our deliberations on our constitutional future.
13:03
I declare an interest. I am a member of the Soil Association, Slow Food Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation. I am happy to thank Angus MacDonald, who deserves every credit for securing this timely debate. There are many things to be said about the bee crisis.
There has been a decline of perhaps more than 60 per cent in pollinators—bees, moths, butterflies, hoverflies and many other invertebrates. The bumblebee population alone has declined by more than 60 per cent in the past 50 years—the black bee in Scotland is a bumblebee, not a hive bee. That statistic cannot be repeated often enough if we are to wake up to multiple causes of the problem and seek long-lasting solutions that restore pollinator diversity.
The causes are multifactoral. Hedges have been grubbed up, robbing land of its wildflower margins and its blossoms, hawthorns, geans and nesting sites. That has disrupted pollinator corridors. The impacts of climate change and agricultural intensification are increasing. Invasive non-native species, pesticides, bee diseases and the varroa mite have also taken their toll, as members said.
A fortnight ago, I met Robin Inglis, who is secretary of the Olrig and District Beekeepers Association, in Caithness. He was dismayed by the arrival of varroa mite in Halkirk, near Thurso. The disease has taken 20 years to spread across Europe, and I have been monitoring it for more than 15 years as beekeepers from further south have rashly imported bees to the Highlands from infected hives. Robin Inglis stresses that the Scottish Government’s bee health programme is welcome and that the free tests that are available from the science and advice for Scottish agriculture division in Edinburgh help beekeepers to plan and reduce the impact of the disease, which is only one of the many that they encounter. On 25 July, the John O’Groat Journal reported that 2,000 varroa mites can kill a colony of 30,000 honey bees. That is how serious the problem is.
The Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee has discussed the threat to honey bees from the neonicotinoids that have decimated bumblebees and led to the EU directive placing a two-year ban on their use, including in oil-seed rape. International scientific evidence suggests that integrated pest management plans and an extended ban on neonicotinoids are essential. The UK guidance was skewed by the anti-EU stance of the previous UK agriculture secretary, Owen Paterson, who claimed that field trials would be needed to verify the European Food Safety Authority ruling. However, mounting international evidence needs to be applied soon.
The Scottish Government’s precautionary principle has been influenced by the NFUS and its call for field trials. I note that the NFUS suggested in its briefing that unrealistically high doses of plant protection products had been applied in lab tests. However, an article in The Guardian on 7 August on food self-sufficiency pointed out that
“Yields of wheat and oil seed rape, for example, have flatlined since 1998”.
It is interesting to note that neonicotinoids were introduced in 1995. They do not seem to have helped to increase the yield of oil-seed rape. Indeed, in some areas, oil-seed rape, like other cooking oils, is produced without the use of neonicotinoids. For example, Robert Mackenzie of Cullisse in Easter Ross produces award-winning oil-seed rape oil without them.
The need for integrated management plans to protect pollinators has never been more urgent. The Scottish Government’s moves in that direction are widely welcomed and the science has been applied so that farmers and the wider community can have peace of mind. The NFUS has said that it would
“welcome any further opportunity to work with stakeholders including scientists, regulators, beekeepers and environmental NGOs in order to ensure that Scottish farming and bees can co-exist in a sustainable manner.”
In order to end the threat to bees in Scotland and solve the problem of pollinator decline, we need to promote scientific research as soon as possible in greater amounts in our outstanding colleges and institutes. This debate is a wake-up call.
13:08
I join my colleagues in congratulating Angus MacDonald on securing the debate. I also congratulate Buglife and the Scottish Wildlife Trust on their consistent work in highlighting the importance of the pollinator population to maintaining the biodiversity of our countryside and our urban environments.
We have learned how vital pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and other insects are to our ecosystems and what an essential part of the food chain they are. The loss of pollinators and the potential impact on the food supply for humans as well as wildlife is quite daunting, and it is easy to feel powerless in the face of such devastating statistics. Yes, we must take precautionary steps such as banning neonicotinoids, as the EU has done for the next two years, but we must also have measures in place that support habitats and rebuild pollinator populations.
Among the worrying developments of the past few years and the decreasing pollinator population, it has been especially heartening to see the simple contributions that every person can make to improving and increasing the habitats of pollinators. Buglife’s campaign to get Britain buzzing is a great example of that, and I am pleased to see it getting the recognition that it deserves in today’s debate.
The Parliament has considered biodiversity previously and, during my time on the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, I have welcomed the opportunity to participate in debates on the topic. Looking back to my contributions on the issue, I note that I highlighted the huge range of biodiversity in Fife and the excellent work being carried out by projects across the region, including at Lochore meadows. Of course, many other projects across Mid Scotland and Fife are helping to lead the fight back for our pollinator populations. Fleecefaulds meadow wildlife reserve near Ceres in Fife benefits from the wonderfully named flying flock of sheep, which the Scottish Wildlife Trust uses to manage grasslands across Scotland through conservation grazing.
In mentioning bugs, bees and even sheep, it would be remiss of me not to mention the brown long-eared bat, as I am the proud species champion for that great wee creature. We need to remember how it and many other species are reliant on a healthy population of pollinators and a diverse range of habitats. The Bat Conservation Trust has highlighted how important wildlife corridors can be for bats and other creatures by linking up different habitats across Scotland’s landscape.
It is not just the environmental importance of pollinators that has been calculated. Impressively, the Scottish Wildlife Trust has been able to quantify the economic impact of pollinators on the economy, which is estimated to be at least £43 million annually in Scotland alone. It is not just our agricultural and food sector that is reliant on a diverse and healthy pollinator population—given the importance of Scotland’s landscape to our visitors, the tourism sector should surely be considered, too.
We know that the threat to biodiversity from the loss of pollinators crosses borders, so I am pleased that the UK Environmental Audit Committee has strongly voiced its concerns about the reservations of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs over the European Commission’s ban on neonicotinoid pesticides. I welcome the precautionary principle that the EU has followed on the matter and I am interested in hearing from the minister about the Scottish Government’s view on making the ban permanent once the EU temporary ban has lapsed. We have only to look to countries where the pollinator population has already collapsed to see how vital it is that we get this right.
I support the principles that are outlined in Buglife’s manifesto.
13:12
I congratulate Angus MacDonald on securing this debate on Scotland’s pollinators. I am encouraged by the impressive level of cross-party support that he obtained for the motion, although that was also the case when the Parliament debated bees previously. As members may know, my colleagues Paul Wheelhouse and Richard Lochhead are currently at different ends of the country making important announcements, so they turned to a former environment minister to step into the breach.
I was toying with some justice-related bee puns, but the only thing that I could come up with was to say that the police have been training crack bee squads in order to help with their sting operations—I do not know where that fits with members’ puns on the issue. I responded to the motion when we debated the issue in 2009. The discussion then was as informed as it has been today. I have been flicking through the Official Report of that debate, and I see that there were also an equal number of puns—it is unavoidable.
Members will forgive me if, this time, I have to refer some of their more specific questions to my colleagues. I know that they will come back on some issues. During that debate, I highlighted the Scottish Government’s intention to launch a 10-year honey bee health strategy. That strategy has enhanced partnership working. We are halfway through the period, and the strategy is helping us to make steady progress towards the common goal of creating a sustainable and healthy population of honey bees in Scotland. I am encouraged by the strengthening of bee health initiatives and the improved biosecurity in response to that honey bee health strategy. It is nonetheless important for beekeepers to appreciate the significant role that they play in disease management and control within their apiaries.
The economic importance of the honey market in Scotland is self-evident, as it has an average annual value of around £9 million. Initiatives such as the Bee Farmers Association’s apprenticeship scheme help to strengthen this important industry by supporting young people to take up the enterprise.
The Bee Keeping (Colonsay and Oronsay) Order 2013 is an important step to ensuring that we have a reserve of black bee colonies that are free from disease and hybridisation threats. I am sure that, had Peter Peacock been in the chamber, he would have welcomed that, too.
As we have heard from a number of members, including Angus MacDonald and Alison Johnstone, the issue is not just about honey bees. In the UK, there are at least 1,500 species of insects that pollinate plants. I will have to ask Jayne Baxter to forgive me, because I do not have specific lines on bats. I am indebted to her for bringing to my attention the fact that bats, too, play a role in this area, and I will reprimand my officials for not at least including some reference to them in my briefing. There is increasing evidence that wild bees and hoverflies are particularly important pollinators in Scotland, and the value of insect pollination services in Scotland—which, as Jayne Baxter said, is estimated to be £43 million per year—was acknowledged in the “2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity”.
We share members’ concerns about the declines in the number, diversity and geographical range of pollinators, especially those with more specialised habitat or forage needs, and we recognise that we need to improve our understanding of the distribution and abundance of, and changes in, pollinators in the countryside. That is why we are contributing to a new UK-level initiative to design and test a national pollinator and pollination monitoring scheme. The future monitoring effort will include an important people engagement element, which will build on the contributions that can be made through citizen science.
The Scottish Government continues to support initiatives that improve our understanding of the range of factors that affect pollinators. For example—this partly answers Claudia Beamish’s request for information about research—we are investing £560,000 in the insect pollinators initiative, which is a major research initiative that will involve investment of a total of £10 million in nine projects over five years. It is being led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and it draws together a number of partners. The initiative includes studies on managing bee and other insect pollinator diseases, understanding the impact of land use changes on pollinators, understanding the ecology and conservation of urban bees, and pollinator efficiency.
As I would have expected, a number of members have mentioned the problem of neonicotinoids or neonics. The Scottish Government will scrutinise the emerging research evidence on the effects of neonic use, and it continues to support advisory work by Scotland’s Rural College that informs farmers on the safe use of pesticide products and alternatives to pesticides.
Our activity is, of course, much broader than simply evidence gathering. There is much that we already know, and there is a lot that we can do, and indeed are doing, to help pollinators in Scotland. That includes maintaining and re-establishing wildflower-rich grasslands and pasture. In the next Scotland rural development programme, pollinators will continue to be one of the beneficiaries in the arable options. That might not answer the highly specific question that Liam McArthur asked, but I will ask my colleagues to get back to him with any further information.
Appropriate management of our hedgerows and road edges by local authorities and land managers is also important, as it ensures that the wild flowers along them are allowed to flourish during the main flowering period between March and September. In the green spaces in urban areas, many of us can make a contribution by planting pollinator-friendly plants in our gardens. It is important that those plants span the seasons, from the early-flowering bluebells to summer thyme to the late-flowering honeysuckle, lavender and sunflower plants. I reiterate a point that I made in the 2009 debate: allowing some wild areas in urban gardens is an enormous help. It is also an excuse to be a lazy gardener, and I do not think that people need excuses for that.
We need to build on successful initiatives such as the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s bees for everyone project, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage. We recognise the range of activity that is required to enhance and improve pollinator populations, and we are working with SNH to produce towards the end of the year a pollinator strategy that will help to consolidate the partnership and collaboration effort that is already in place. The principles of the Buglife manifesto will be taken forward through that strategy, and it will frame future surveillance and monitoring needs, as well as the crucial research that is required to help improve our understanding of the complexities of the issue. A contribution of £100,000 has been made to the scheme—that is another aspect of the spend.
I thank members for their speeches on the importance of Scotland’s pollinators. Raising awareness of the issues and the steps that we can all take to help pollinators is important, and I hope that it is not another five years before there is another debate on bees in the Parliament.
13:19 Meeting suspended.Previous
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