Insect decline and UK food security

During this Inquiry it has become evident that substantial knowledge gaps persist in our understanding of insect populations. Despite the UK being a leader in this field of research, there remains a scarcity of comprehensive and comparable data which poses a significant challenge in accurately assessing the extent and underlying causes of insect decline.

The lack of long-term monitoring programmes for many insect species, and inconsistent data collection methods, hampers the ability to discern trends over time.

The Government and its agencies like UKRI should produce a clear strategy for sustaining long-term insect monitoring research. This involves not only maintaining existing projects but also initiating new studies that can address insect data gaps. Funders should commit to the longer term funding which is needed for insect monitoring projects, extending beyond the usual five-year cycle of research grants and ensure that these studies have clear channels for the incorporation of data collected by amateur groups.

Effective communication of the reality of insect decline needs to be accompanied by communication of actions that can address it. A fatalistic approach risks reducing the chances of changes being made to policy, behaviour and practices that can make a real difference to stopping and reversing insect decline. Empowering both the public and policy makers is a more effective tool for change than implying hopelessness.

The Government and its agencies should consider ways in which to communicate not only the reality of insect decline but also the attainable steps that can be taken to tackle it. (Paragraph 42) The importance of insects for UK Food Security

While pollinators play a crucial role in ensuring UK food security, it is essential to recognise that insects and invertebrates play more than this one role in supporting food production. Diverse species are essential for preserving ecosystems, and their populations require careful nurturing and maintenance to support sustainable and resilient food production.

We commend the success of the National Pollinator Strategy and eagerly await the 2025–2035 update that we expect to be published by September 2024. There is scope to build on the work of the strategy by creating a complementary ‘National Invertebrate Strategy’ that would include provisions for invertebrates that carry out other important ecological roles. As seen in the creation of the National Pollinator Strategy, the National Invertebrate Strategy should include the publication of an implementation plan, containing accountability targets, linked to the strategy every five years for non-pollinating, agriculturally beneficial, invertebrates. (Paragraph 58) Insect decline and UK food security 47

The United Kingdom relies significantly on the global production of various horticultural crops, including fruits and salad vegetables. These imported foods may be subject to vulnerabilities, such as wars, which can see significant price increases. Approximately 50% of the food consumed in the UK comes from overseas. Therefore, it is integral to UK food security that the issues regarding insect decline and food production are also addressed at an international level. The UK Government should use its position in international forums to advocate for and address the issues highlighted in this report on a global scale. Collaborative efforts are essential to mitigate the challenges posed by insect decline and to secure sustainable and resilient food systems worldwide.

Charismatic insect species, of which the honeybee is a prime example, serve as invaluable ambassadors for the field of entomology, rendering the subject more accessible to the public and bringing to public attention this often-overlooked animal group. The concentrations of high numbers of hives in a small number of specific geographical areas may have detrimental effects on wild pollinator species due to resource competition. Consequently, there is a need to extend the range of conservation efforts to include the over 270 wild species of bees in the UK, acknowledging the importance of preserving the entire spectrum of biodiversity for a more balanced and resilient ecosystem.

Defra should expand the remit of the National Bee Unit, to include a focus on wild bee health. This should include both developing internal expertise and fostering collaboration with entomology experts and producing biennial reports, as part of the National Pollinator Strategy update previously recommended in this report. The Unit should also produce guidance to keepers about the potential impacts of over densification of hives on wild pollinator species.

Raising awareness of the importance of various insect species must be nurtured early to avoid the aversion that many people have to insects. The scarcity of experts, both professional and amateur, underscores the importance of cultivating a greater public passion for entomology, starting from an early age. The commendable efforts made by institutions such as the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, demonstrate promising avenues for engaging the public both online and in person.

In its response to this report, the Government should set out how it intends to facilitate nationwide access to external teaching resources offered by public bodies. This access, available through online platforms and educational visits, can significantly enhance the educational experience. The Government should also outline details of how it can make it easier to enter specific careers in entomology whether through vocational routes including collaborations with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environment Management or through academic streams.

The existing biology and core sciences GCSE curriculum inadequately addresses crucial aspects of insect study and focuses on a limited selection of ecological roles. We applaud the introduction of the new Natural History GCSE, which aims to not only encompass scientific knowledge but also lay the foundations of skills necessary for pursuing a career in entomology and other nature-related subjects. (Paragraph 88) 48 Insect decline and UK food security

The Government should ensure that it promotes access to the new Natural History GCSE when it is launched, with particular focus on schools that may not currently have easy access to the natural environment.

We commend the often-overlooked contributions of amateur entomologists, ranging from unpaid species experts to members of the public involved in citizen science initiatives. While the collection of insect monitoring data remains invaluable for entomology, citizen science projects serve a broader purpose. We agree with the perspective of conservation experts, acknowledging that participation in such projects not only aids insect research but also enriches the lives of participants by fostering a deeper connection with the natural world. Citizen science projects allow researchers access to insect data from broad geographic areas that they may not have the resources to sample themselves. However, this type of survey must supplement, not replace, expert-led academic research projects.

Citizen science projects, especially those supported by public funding, should implement strategies to enhance inclusivity, ensuring the involvement of people from urban and disadvantaged backgrounds. This broader participation not only facilitates the collection of data from areas such as urban environments but also allows more people to experience the mental health benefits associated with engaging with nature. (Paragraph 104) Pesticides and agri-environmental policies

Witnesses to this Inquiry have told us that within the UK, land use change, land management practices and pesticide usage are amongst the largest contributing factors to insect decline. Consequently, the largest influence on achieving the biodiversity targets for insect species outlined in the 2021 Environment Act, could lie in the implementation of agri-environmental policies.

Evidence from this Inquiry supports the conclusions from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that the impact of Environment Land Management Schemes (ELMS) should be monitored and adapted as needed throughout its implementation, to gain the benefit of an iterative approach to policy development. ELMS should also show that it delivers better environmental outcomes than previous agri-environmental schemes. However generous and efficient the payment system is, the actions being rewarded need to have their impacts monitored and assessed to ensure specific outcomes like improved insect populations are delivered by ELMS and that public money is well spent. Successful execution of this monitoring, coupled with feedback from farmers and land managers, will give a more comprehensive overview of the individual and collective effects of ELMS implementation.

The Government, in response to this report, should outline its plans to establish a monitoring and evaluation programme for ELMS. Such a programme should incorporate mechanisms to feed data on specific outcomes—such as insect abundance— back into long-term monitoring programmes. The Government should publish annual reports detailing: Insect decline and UK food security 49

ELMS uptake levels, including a breakdown for each standard within the Sustainable Farming Incentive and how the schemes are combined by participants; a) implemented actions following scheme uptake; b) the influence of farmers’ feedback on ELMS development; and c) the environmental impacts of the schemes including impact on beneficial insect species.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an important component of sustainable crop protection; however, it requires more knowledge than traditional pesticide applications. To enhance the successful implementation of IPM, it is imperative to adopt innovative approaches and new tools, such as integrating resistant plant varieties, the use of biopesticides or new pheromones, artificial intelligence decision support systems, and advances in agronomy as and when they are developed. For widespread adoption within the farming community, effective and sustainable crop protection strategies should be demonstrated at a commercial scale.

We support the work of the Voluntary Initiative in disseminating advice to farmers on implementing Integrated Pest Management strategies. However, there is scope to extend the scheme to incorporate a peer-to-peer advisory network to provide farmers with access to a range of advice for developing and implementing their own strategies. The Government should also support the development of new IPM technologies through research funding and other mechanisms. Once these technologies are demonstrated as effective, the Government should encourage farmers to implement them by incorporating their use as specific actions into the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS).

The statutory targets to halt and reverse species extinction and decline in abundance are ambitious and welcome. However, the exclusion of numerous invertebrate species and in some cases entire groups from the baseline metrics, particularly those vital for UK food security such as predatory beetles, is concerning. Including only 11 species of bumblebee is not an adequate abundance indicator for all 270 (at least) unique UK bee species. We are concerned that a significant number of insect or invertebrate species could go extinct or significantly decline in abundance, and yet the statutory targets could still be met by law.

Revised versions of Natural England’s ‘Red List’ and the ‘biodiversity indicators’ used to measure changes in abundance should include a minimum of one species per family, which would result in a significant increase in invertebrate representation. In response to this report, the Government should set out what steps it is taking to gain approval from members of the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, so that data from species excluded from the 2022 Red List can be included in future iterations. Additionally, a detailed breakdown of how current data from the monitoring of excluded invertebrate species influence both the interim and final statutory biodiversity targets, should be published routinely. This should be in the form of an alternative ‘Baseline List’ to include species where the availability of data does not pass the threshold for inclusion in the ‘Red List’, but where evidence is available to determine a baseline conservation 50 Insect decline and UK food security status. This ‘Baseline List’ should include as many excluded insect species as possible, to act as baseline statistics from which all future interim and final progress reporting for the biodiversity targets will be made.

Witnesses to our Inquiry estimate that approximately half of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are not in a good state and are failing to conserve invertebrate biodiversity. Protected sites do not exist in isolation and are therefore influenced by the quality of nature in the surrounding environment. Whilst we welcome the statutory improvements to SSSIs set out by the Environment Improvement Plan, which will go some way to prevent more insect species extinctions, our Inquiry heard it is unlikely that these improvements will be sufficient to halt decline in species abundance. This is particularly the case for more common species, where large numbers of individuals in a population are needed to play pivotal roles such as pollination effectively.

The Government should invest in the monitoring of landscapes surrounding protected areas to collect evidence on how these areas impact the quality of protected sites. This data should be included in the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) condition assessments. Details of how to mitigate external influences on SSSI conditions should also be considered as an ‘action to achieve favourable conditions’, which in accordance with the Environment Improvement Plan should be reported in 2028.

The UK has made international commitments to reducing the overall risk caused by pesticides by at least half by 2030. Whilst we acknowledge that updating the National Action Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Use, the UK implementation plan to achieve these commitments, is a substantial task for the Government, this does not excuse the six-year delay in the publication of this crucial policy.

We echo the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee’s recommendation that the Government should publish the National Action Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Use no later than May 2024.

The impact of pesticides on insect species that are not pollinators remains not fully known due to the lack of data on pesticide accumulation in terrestrial environments and specific details of pesticide applications on managed land.

The Government should outline how the ‘Proposals for Terrestrial Environmental Monitoring of Plant Protectant Products’ will be incorporated into the National Action Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Use. Furthermore, the Government should consider how it could use its powers to increase respondents to the Fera’s pesticide usage survey.

Pesticide use by amenity and amateur sectors in urban and suburban areas does not benefit UK food production and can have adverse effects on many insect species.

The updated National Action Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Usage should include targets for reducing pesticide use in urban and suburban areas and to improve best practice for use by amateurs. The Government should work with stakeholders such as the Royal Horticultural Society, to stimulate the phasing down of pesticide use in the domestic horticultural sector. (Paragraph 185) Insect decline and UK food security 51

While a contentious debate exists between nature conservation groups and agriculturalists regarding the use of conventional pesticides, both sides acknowledge the importance of developing new solutions, emphasising the need for increased investment in practical research and development. The regulatory system’s failure to distinguish between conventional chemicals and alternative plant protection products such as biopesticides, coupled with high costs and lengthy approval processes, pose a barrier to innovation. Streamlining this process is essential for advancing environmentally sustainable alternatives in agricultural practices.

The Government should adopt an evidence-based strategy in formulating pesticide legislation, promoting the development of new plant pesticides with heightened target specificity. This approach would aim to mitigate the dual risks of pest resistance development and adverse off-target effects on beneficial insects. Any alterations to the regulatory framework should include ongoing monitoring of the impact on non- target species in field environments, where approved active substances are employed. Moreover, there should be an expansion in the range of non-target species for which data is collected to assess a chemical’s impact prior to regulatory approval. The Government should outline in its response to this Report, how it intends to support the development, regulation and practical application of pesticide alternatives, including, but not exclusive, to biopesticides, hormones and mRNA technologies. The Government should set out how it intends to adapt the current regulatory systems to accommodate innovative pesticide alternatives so that regulatory approval for these technologies can, where possible, be expedited. (Paragraph 192) 52 Insect decline and UK food security