Scientists Offer Road Map for Insect Conservation and Restoration

In an article published in Nature Ecology & Evolution on January 6, 2020, a group of 73 scientists have called for a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide and fertilizer use under a “global roadmap” for insect conservation and recovery. The article reads, in part: “Insects are vitally important in a wide range of ecosystem services of which some are vitally important for food production and security (for example, pollination and pest control). There is now a strong scientific consensus that the decline of insects, other arthropods and biodiversity as a whole, is a very real and serious threat that society must urgently address.” The authors offered several “no-regret” immediate solutions to address the significant decline in insect populations resulting from “habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and overharvesting.” These include measures such as increasing landscape heterogeneity in agriculture; reducing light, water, and noise pollution; phasing out pesticide use; reducing imports of ecologically harmful products; avoiding the introduction of alien species; conserving threatened species and promoting restoration programs; and enhancing citizen science in order to obtain more data on insect diversity and engage the public. In addition, the scientists proposed some mid-term and long-term actions, such as encouraging new research, generating more reliable dat...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news