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<DIV>Thanks to Faisal Moola of the David Suzuki Foundation for sending this to us for the LISTSERV. </DIV>
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<DIV>In addition, all of the presentations from last week's highly successful Canadian meeting are on <A href="http://www.nappc.org">www.nappc.org</A> website thanks to new CoE/NAPPC staff member Kat McGuire. </DIV>
<P><FONT size=4>Decline of bees and other pollinators raises concern for food supply</FONT> </P>
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<P>Dennis Bueckert</FONT></P></TD></TR>
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<P>Canadian Press</FONT></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P><BR>Friday, January 19, 2007</P>
<P>OTTAWA (CP) - The decline of bee populations in Europe and North America has raised alarm about pollinators that fertilize crops essential for the human food supply. </P>
<P>Experts are calling for measures to protect pollinators of all kinds, including not only bees, both managed and wild, but birds, bats, flies and even beetles. </P>
<P>They say people should become much more tolerant of plant species that are currently viewed as weeds, which can be vital to pollinators' survival. </P>
<P>"Pollinator declines and pollination deficits are now being reported for North America and may signal a threat to ecosystem and agricultural productivity," says a paper by University of Guelph ecologist Vernon Thomas. </P>
<P>The paper was presented this week in Ottawa at the first Canadian meeting of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. </P>
<P>A report by the U.S. National Academy of Science last year said long-term population trends for several wild bee species, notably bumble bees, some butterflies, bats and hummingbirds are "demonstrably downward." </P>
<P>But there is virtually no population data on many pollinating insects, the report says. </P>
<P>Protecting pollinators requires a continent-wide approach because they don't respect national borders, said Charles Caccia, senior fellow at the Ottawa University Institute of the Environment. </P>
<P>Caccia has been instrumental in launching the Canadian Pollinator Protection Initiative, modelled on a similar U.S. campaign. </P>
<P>Threats to pollinators include pesticides, climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species and human indifference. </P>
<P>Farmers and others should be less zealous about eliminating weeds around the boundaries of farmland, in ditches or utility rights of way, experts say. </P>
<P>"It's actually these kind of scruffy areas that pollinators like," said Laurie Davies Adams, executive director of the Washington-based CoEvolution Institute. </P>
<P>Government regulations that discourage the growth of certain types of plants, such milkweed, can also be a problem. </P>
<P>Gardeners can play a useful role by creating habitat for pollinators, Adams said. </P>
<P>"What we want is for everyday people to look at their gardens and say, do you want just a static stage that is an empty theatre or do you want actors to come in and have this interaction?" </P>
<P>Faisal Moola, a biologist with the David Suzuki Foundation, stressed the importance of protecting a wide variety of plants. </P>
<P>"Very few pollinators are specialists; most are generalists. Consequently they depend on a full range and diversity of plants. </P>
<P>"Keep in mind that many flowers have particular blooming periods. You need to have an availability of floral resources right through the lifespan of that insect." </P></FONT>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>Faisal Moola, PhD</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#004000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12">Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR>Coevolution Institute<BR>423 Washington St. 5th<BR>San Francisco, CA 94111<BR>415 362 1137<BR>LDA@coevolution.org<BR><A title=http://www.coevolution.org/ href="http://www.coevolution.org/">http://www.coevolution.org/</A></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#004000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12"><BR><A title=http://www.pollinator.org/ href="http://www.pollinator.org/">http://www.pollinator.org/</A></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#004000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12"><BR><A title=http://www.nappc.org/ href="http://www.nappc.org/">http://www.nappc.org/</A></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#004000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Bee Ready for National Pollinator Week: June 24-30, 2007. Contact us <BR>for more information at www.pollinator.org </FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#004000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12"><BR><BR><B><I>Our future flies on the wings of pollinators.</B></I></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>