EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 24.1.2023 COM(2023) 35 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Revision of the EU Pollinators Initiative







A new deal for pollinators



{SWD(2023) 18 final}



1.Introduction The decline in wild pollinators and its consequences on food security, human health, quality of life and ecosystem functioning raises strong concerns across society. It has also prompted calls, in particular by scientists and civil society, for decisive action to address the causes behind the decline. One recent example is the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers”, which calls for a transition towards a more bee-friendly agriculture, and was successfully presented to the European Commission in October 2022 after having collected over one million statements of support from EU citizens. Around four in five crop and wild-flowering plant species in Europe depend, at least to some extent, on animal pollination delivered by thousands of insect species. This service brings tangible benefits to the economy: its contribution to the EU’s agricultural output is estimated to be at least EUR 5 billion per year. Most of the essential benefits that pollinators provide remain unquantified, such as their contribution to nutrition security and health, or to maintaining ecosystem health and resilience by pollinating wild plants. Yet, Europe and the world are confronted with a dramatic loss of wild pollinators. According to the European Red List, the population of around one in three bee, butterfly and hoverfly species is declining. Moreover, one in ten bee and butterfly species, and one in three hoverfly species are threatened with extinction. While these figures already raise alarm bells, the full picture is not yet known. An increased understanding of the state of pollinators could reveal an even more concerning situation. The decline of pollinators poses a threat to both human wellbeing and nature. The loss of pollinators undermines long-term agricultural productivity, further exacerbating a trend influenced by other factors, notably the current geopolitical situation with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Global efforts have been made to address the biodiversity crisis at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022. These global efforts must be accompanied by ambitious measures to protect and restore biodiversity at EU level, of which pollinators are an integral part. In 2018, the Commission adopted the first-ever EU framework to address the decline of wild pollinators – the EU Pollinators Initiative. This initiative set long-term objectives for 2030 and a comprehensive set of actions to be implemented in the short-to-medium term. It has been strongly supported across stakeholder groups, and garnered high public interest. The objectives of the initiative have been strongly boosted by the European Green Deal. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 set the overall ambition of reversing the decline in pollinator numbers and diversity by 2030 as part of a series of commitments and targets for restoring nature in the EU. The strategy also established the EU Biodiversity Platform under which a working group for pollinators was set up as the main governance platform for the Pollinators Initiative. Other initiatives under the European Green Deal, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Forest Strategy, the Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, help to tackle threats to pollinators. This Communication presents a revised action framework for the EU Pollinators Initiative, building on comprehensive stakeholder consultations and institutional feedback from the European Parliament, the Council, the Committee of the Regions, and the European Court of Auditors. It sets out actions to be taken by the EU and its Member States to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030. The revision follows up on the review of progress in implementing the Pollinators Initiative, which the Commission undertook in 2021. The review showed that, while it remains a valid policy tool, significant challenges still need to be overcome to halt and reverse pollinator decline. In particular, further action has to be taken to effectively tackle the drivers of the decline, underpinned by robust monitoring and governance mechanisms. The review called for the Initiative to be revised to meet its long-term objectives. The revision also follows up on the European Court of Auditors’ special report on EU actions to protect wild pollinators. This report identified gaps in key EU policies addressing the main threats to wild pollinators and it recommended that the Commission assesses the need to add specific measures to address threats currently not considered in the Pollinators Initiative. It also pointed to the need to better integrate actions to protect wild pollinators in EU biodiversity conservation and agricultural policies and improve protection of wild pollinators from pesticides. In June 2022, the Commission presented a proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, which aims to enshrine into law the ambition of the Biodiversity Strategy: it includes a legally binding target for EU Member States to reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, and to maintain increasing trends thereafter. The Nature Restoration Law and this revised Pollinators Initiative go hand-in-hand: the legislative proposal gives Member States the flexibility to decide, in their National Restoration Plans, the most effective measures to achieve the target. The actions in this revised Initiative, which encompass a broad range of EU policies, aim to support and complement the national restoration measures required under the proposed Nature Restoration Law. 2.EU action to reverse the decline of pollinators The revised Pollinators Initiative sets objectives for 2030 and related actions under three priorities: I: Improving knowledge of pollinator decline, its causes and consequences II: Improving pollinator conservation and tackling the causes of their decline III: Mobilising society and promoting strategic planning and cooperation at all levels The subsequent chapters develop these priorities and the related actions. The table in the annex lists all actions. 2.1.PRIORITY I: Improving knowledge of pollinator decline, its causes and consequences

Action to help pollinators must be underpinned by robust science. Since 2018, major progress has been made in gathering actionable knowledge for pollinator conservation, but significant knowledge gaps remain. Further efforts are needed to put in place a robust EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators, undertake critical assessments and spatial analyses, and promote targeted research and innovation activities. Establish a comprehensive monitoring system To deploy effective conservation and restoration measures for pollinator populations, it is necessary to map their distribution, state and trends at adequately accurate spatial and temporal detail. This requires a robust EU-wide monitoring scheme that provides regular and frequent information over a long time frame. The Commission and the Member States are working on a monitoring methodology, building on technical options for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS). To rigorously measure the trends in pollinator abundance and diversity and reliably assess progress towards reversing their decline, monitoring will have to be undertaken at a sufficient number of sites. Under the proposed Nature Restoration Law, Member States would be obliged to carry out the monitoring of pollinator species every year, according to a standardised methodology. In addition, the main threats to pollinator decline should also be monitored. The European Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes (EMBAL) initiative, which collects information on pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes, and the Insignia project, which aims to monitor pesticides and other pollutants using the honeybee as a bioindicator, offer efficient ways to fill information gaps on the state of pollinator habitats and environmental pollution. These processes require systematic implementation in the long-term. Establishing an integrated framework for monitoring pollinator decline, its causes and consequences, according to the DPSIR (drivers, pressures, state, impact and response) model of intervention, would allow tracking the outputs and outcomes of relevant policy actions. Support research and assessment Research and innovation activities will continue to be needed to generate actionable knowledge based on systematically collected data and information, supported by the EU framework programme for research and innovation – Horizon Europe – as well as national research efforts. We need to better understand the taxonomic and functional diversity of pollinator communities and their distribution, as well as the threats to pollinators and their interactions. The latter in particular applies to less understood threats to pollinators (see Priority II). It will also be necessary to further develop assessment tools, such as the Red List assessment and the EU-wide mapping of key pollinator areas, in order to enable targeted conservation and restoration measures. Promote capacity building and knowledge sharing Monitoring and research are resource-intensive, and financial and human resources will have to be used in a cost-effective manner. Strategic development of research infrastructure, monitoring tools and expertise can help in this regard. In particular, it will be important to raise the capacity of both professional and citizen science to undertake taxonomic work, by providing work, education, and training opportunities. Existing online tools, such as the EU Pollinator Information Hive and the Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE), should be fully utilised to share monitoring results and the knowledge generated through research and innovation. This requires engagement both at EU and national level, with support from the European Environment Agency. Knowledge sharing, together with open access to data, will increase the efficiency of public investments and ensure transparency of the science-policy processes and decision making. 2.2.PRIORITY II: Improving pollinator conservation and tackling the causes of their decline The major threats to wild pollinators include land-use change (including urbanisation), intensive agricultural management practices (including pesticide use), environmental pollution (including light pollution), invasive alien species and climate change. Other threats could be emerging, putting extra pressure on pollinators. Some threats, such as intensive agriculture and pesticide use, are better understood than others. The appropriate measures to mitigate their impacts are well known. A rapid increase in the uptake of these measures is urgently needed. For other threats such as pollution by chemicals, air pollutants, and heavy metals, knowledge is insufficient to estimate the extent and distribution of their impacts on pollinators, or to design an appropriate intervention strategy. Here, further monitoring and research and innovation activities are needed to enable a science-based response to pollinator decline. Improve conservation of pollinator species and habitats Pollinator populations are subject to pressures across different landscapes and land uses, which interact with each other, further amplifying the harmful impacts. Therefore, actions to mitigate those impacts should not be taken in isolation but need to be coordinated across sectors and planned well to ensure consistency, synergies, and cost-effectiveness. Protected areas and appropriate land management provide the backbone for conserving the rich diversity of pollinator species. Building on this, strategically planned restoration activities should be deployed to ensure adequate areas of well-connected, high-quality pollinator habitats. Species conservation plans are a key tool to coordinate such a strategic approach, in particular for the most threatened species. They provide information on the status, ecology, threats, and current conservation measures for each species and list the key actions that are required to improve their conservation status across their range within the EU. The Commission is currently developing three conservation plans for certain groups of threatened pollinator species. Two plans will cover agricultural and forest landscapes across the EU, and the third will cover a specific geographic area, the Canary Islands. Once finalised, their broad uptake and implementation should be ensured by support from various funding sources, including the LIFE Programme. Pollinator conservation should be well integrated into the management of protected areas, in particular the Natura 2000 network. Many habitat types protected by the Habitats Directive are essential for pollinators. Including pollinators as typical species in the monitoring and assessment of these habitats’ conservation status would help streamline pollinator conservation in Natura 2000 management plans. The rollout of pollinator monitoring will help to better map rare and threatened pollinator species. This information should be used for fine-tuning conservation and restoration efforts, and for designating new protected areas, in the context of the EU target to achieve 30% protected areas by 2030 under the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Land use and changes in land use, such as intensification in agriculture and forestry, urbanisation and infrastructure development can negatively impact pollinators by reducing the availability of pollinator habitats and increasing habitat fragmentation. An integrated approach is needed across natural and cultural landscapes to counteract habitat fragmentation. This can be achieved through a strategically planned network of habitat stretches that jointly form a connected infrastructure across the landscape, traversing biogeographic and administrative regions. Such ecological corridors for pollinators – which we propose to call “Buzz Lines” – would enable species to move in search of food, shelter, and nesting and breeding sites. Moreover, these corridors would act as migration routes for species impacted by climate change, and thus support adaptation efforts. Spatial planning processes at all governance levels are of critical importance for the successful implementation of the Buzz Lines network. Actions for pollinators across landscapes should also be further supported through EU funds, in particular the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), cohesion policy funds and the LIFE programme. Member States should also strongly encourage and facilitate cross-border cooperation in this regard.

Restore pollinator habitats in agricultural landscapes Known pressures include certain agricultural management practices such as monoculture, high use of pesticides and intensive tillage, intensively performed grazing or mowing, and, where it occurs, over-fertilisation of grasslands, leading to the decline of pollinators in agricultural landscapes. A greater uptake of pollinator-friendly agronomic techniques, in particular agroecology, is key to reversing this trend. The CAP is one of the main instruments to support such a transition, through measures such as organic farming, maintaining and developing landscape features, agro-forestry, reduced chemicals use, and protection of pollinator-friendly plants on pastures and buffer strips. In 2023-27, the CAP will be governed by a new green architecture with strengthened baseline requirements and new ecoschemes under its Pillar I, in combination with measures under Pillar II, such as agri-environment-climate management commitments. Interventions beneficial for pollinators in agricultural landscapes should be planned in a strategic and coordinated way, on the basis of the needs identified at local level. Pollinator-friendly landscapes are biodiverse, rich in landscape features and offering an adequate quantity of high-quality, well-connected habitats. Within the CAP, Member States can design strategic interventions that contribute to the specific economic, environmental and social objectives. For example, results-based payment schemes can make the approach more effective and offer more flexibility and incentives to farmers to implement environmentally friendly practices. Moreover, Member States are encouraged to mitigate pressures at landscape level through collective schemes, which incentivise the collaboration between farmers in the collective implementation of agri-environment-climate commitments. The CAP Strategic Plans developed by Member States include a variety of actions with high potential for the protection of pollinators. For example, several Plans aim to create feeding areas for wild pollinators, such as flower strips, cultivation of annual melliferous plants, or other suitable landscape features. Other commitments concern the establishment of non-productive areas on arable land in order to improve, among others, the status of pollinators and to increase the food supply for pollinating insects. The Plans may also aim to replace chemical plant protection products by biological pest control methods, contributing significantly to the protection of pollinators. Risks posed by agro-chemicals (in particular pesticides and high nutrient loads) must also be well mitigated. This requires common efforts and cooperation between public authorities and farmers. Farm advisors who are well-trained in biodiversity and pollinator conservation, as well as demonstration and communication activities, are key elements to facilitate a better uptake of targeted measures. Once available, robust indicators based on the EU-wide pollinator monitoring methodology (see Priority I) should be used to evaluate the impact of interventions. Under the CAP, technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States can be used, among other funding sources, to support deployment of the pollinator monitoring scheme (EU-PoMS). Mitigate the impacts of pesticide use on pollinators Pesticides remain a major driver of pollinator decline, and their impact must be mitigated by targeted policies and practices. In the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, the Commission committed to reduce the risk and use of pesticides and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030. These targets are intended to be implemented, in particular, by the proposed Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (SUR). The Commission will also undertake further work to improve the indicators used for quantifying the reduction of the risk and use of plant protection products. As part of the draft SUR, the Commission also proposed a ban on the use of pesticides in sensitive areas. These include areas protected for nature conservation, as well as areas hosting pollinators that are threatened with extinction. As part of the interinstitutional negotiations, the European Parliament and Council are looking in detail at the modalities for such a prohibition. The draft SUR also provides for increased uptake of integrated pest management (IPM). This establishes a hierarchy of interventions for plant protection, where the focus is on low-risk measures and chemical pesticides are only used as a last resort. One growing concern is the granting of emergency authorisations by Member States for pesticides that are no longer approved at EU level. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and will mandate the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to verify whether the justifications provided by Member States for these authorisations are valid. The Commission has already done this repeatedly in relation to emergency authorisations for the use of certain neonicotinoids. Furthermore, the Commission is undertaking steps to enhance the availability of low-risk alternatives to chemical pest control, in particular related to biological solutions such as micro-organisms. The Commission is working towards reinforcing the risk assessment of pesticides for pollinators. This includes strengthening the risk assessment for bees to minimise the undesired effects of pesticides use on honeybees and wild bee species. Moreover, there is an urgent need to accelerate the availability of test methods that allow to determine the toxicity of pesticides for wild pollinators. It is also necessary to ensure that co-formulants are prohibited from being used together with active substances in plant protection products when they are considered to have unacceptable effects on the environment, including pollinators. Enhance pollinator habitats in urban areas Urbanisation and infrastructure development reduce the availability of natural pollinator habitats. However, if properly planned and managed, urban areas can act as refuges to pollinators, especially in a wider landscape deprived of floral resources. They can also improve habitat connectivity by providing stepping-stone habitats, such as public parks, private gardens (also in rural areas), urban farms, and green walls and green roofs. The Commission has developed guidance on pollinator-friendly cities, which should be further promoted and widely applied by cities. Furthermore, pollinator conservation should be taken into account in developing urban greening plans. Urban areas are also hotspots for engagement activities, and thus play an important role in scaling up involvement of citizens in conservation activities. Reduce the impacts of invasive alien species on pollinators Certain invasive alien species can exert direct or indirect pressures on pollinators. They may prey on native pollinators, be a vector for new diseases and pathogens or compete with them for food sources. Invasive alien plants may outcompete native plants, thus altering plant communities that native pollinators depend on. To prevent further introduction and spread of invasive alien species whose impact on pollinators may be severe, consideration will be given to including them in the list of invasive alien species of Union concern. To ensure that restricting the use of pesticides in sensitive areas does not undermine the future management of invasive alien plant species, it will be important to increase the availability, uptake, and effectiveness of non-chemical management options. The risk of the introduction and spread of alien species harmful to pollinators should also be further reduced by promoting the use of pollinator-friendly native plants and seed mixes in areas including private gardens, public areas, farmland, and forests. Tackle climate change and other causes of pollinator decline

Climate change alters the local weather conditions in terms of temperature and precipitation, and therefore can reduce the resources available to pollinators (e.g. due to drought) and disrupt co-evolved plant-pollinator relationships, such as the timing of flowering and the emergence of specialised pollinators. In particular, many species are expected to change their distribution range to adapt to altered climatic conditions, which would require them to move to new areas. While the EU has put in place a series of climate policies and strategies to become the first climate-neutral and climate-resilient continent by 2050, European ecosystems will inevitably be affected by climate change over the coming decades. Therefore, it will be important to consider the impact of climate change on pollinators and on their habitats and to identify the most vulnerable zones for pollinators in this context, with a view to devising and implementing targeted mitigation measures



As regards light pollution, its impact on nocturnal pollinators is well understood, enabling specific mitigation actions at national, regional, and local level. The Commission has integrated recommendations on how to mitigate light pollution into its guidelines for citizens and cities and will continue to promote them. Pollinators can also be affected by biocides. The approval of active substances and authorisation of biocidal products containing them are subject to strict risk assessment. The European Chemicals Agency is currently devising a specific approach for assessing the risks biocides pose to pollinators. 2.3.PRIORITY III: Mobilising society and promoting strategic planning and cooperation at all levels Help citizens and businesses to act Implementing the actions outlined under the previous two priorities will require broad mobilisation of all relevant actors, including scientists, policymakers, citizens, farmers, and businesses. This should be underpinned by effective communication, mobilisation, and networking activities. Public participation in the monitoring and conservation of pollinators should be further promoted. This should encompass citizen science as well as organised processes of public participation in monitoring and conservation activities at all relevant levels. The European sustainability competence framework can empower citizens to act in this regard. As the decline of pollinators is expected to strongly impact future generations, particular attention should also be paid to youth engagement. In this regard, new technologies, such as the Pollinator Park virtual reality experience, offer complementary channels for engaging society at large. Engagement of key business sectors should be further facilitated through existing networks, with a view to promoting the uptake of the guidelines on action for pollinator conservation across sectors. Promote strategic planning and cooperation at all levels The Pollinators Initiative will need to be translated into well-devised strategic approaches at national, regional, and local levels. Only a consistent course of action across all governance levels will reverse the decline of pollinators. National pollinator strategies should coordinate and stimulate efforts across all relevant sectors and policies to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030, including through actions supported by the EU cohesion policy funds. They should be translated into action plans at regional and local levels. The strategies and action plans need to be developed transparently, in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and using existing networks and platforms to facilitate multi-actor collaboration. Where needed, the setting up of new networks and platforms should be explored. For topics and interventions raising controversy, participatory, deliberative and co-creation processes offer additional means of addressing tensions between different actors, including citizens. An active role for the European Committee of the Regions will be of particular importance, promoting regional engagement and collaboration. Finally, the decline of pollinators is not only a European challenge. EU efforts should contribute to international efforts to reverse this global trend, under the International Pollinators Initiative and through other relevant international forums. 3.Conclusion There is no alternative to halting and reversing the decline of wild pollinators if the EU is to preserve biodiversity, which is fundamental to human wellbeing. The new action framework under the EU Pollinators Initiative sets out a path for the EU to meet this challenge. Together with the proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, it represents a new deal for pollinators in the EU. This revised initiative will contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal, in particular the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. It will also provide a valuable contribution to EU progress towards the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to endorse the new action framework under this Initiative and to actively engage in its implementation, in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders.

ANNEX – New Action Framework