California Pollinator Coalition aims to protect California’s 1,600+ native bees and hundreds of other pollinator species.
The California Pollinator Coalition, a group of some 20 organizations convened by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Almond Board of California, is collaborating to increase pollinator habitat on working lands. Its aim is to increase collaboration between agriculture, conservation and natural resource groups for the benefit of biodiversity and food production.
California is home to more than 1,600 native bees and hundreds of other species of pollinating insects. Globally, pollinators provide service to more than 180,000 different plant species, more than 1,200 crops, and are responsible for producing an estimated one out of every three bites of food. They sustain our ecosystems and support natural resources, all while adding $217 billion to the global economy each year. But pollinator populations are declining and often suffer from the same challenges as California’s agriculture.
“What we are doing in California is acknowledging the urgency to address the critical issue of protecting all pollinators, including native and managed species,” said Laurie Davies Adams, President and CEO of Pollinator Partnership. “Agriculture and conservation must work together to achieve this goal, especially when we will be facing many of the same issues – increasing temperatures, erratic and unpredictable weather, fires, drought, soil depletion, and more. The outcome will not be a tidy report that sits on a shelf, but rather a metric of acres, projects, and species added to the landscape while agriculture continues to profitably feed the nation.”
The Coalition will work together to support pollinators in various ways, by:
- Preparing farmer-friendly guidance to build and maintain pollinator habitat on farms and ranches
- Promoting voluntary, incentive-based habitat establishment projects and Integrated Pest Management practices
- Conducting research and disseminating relevant science
- Monitoring adoption rates and the effectiveness of practices