Norwegian Ministries Strategy National pollinator strategy A strategy for viable populations of wild bees and other pollinating insects Hay meadow in Buskerud. This meadow was registered in 1993 as being of national importance. The photo below was taken in 2004, after the meadow stopped being managed and became overgrown. Photo: Oskar Puschmann 2 Content FOREWORD 4 3.3 The need for knowledge about pollinators and pollination . 25 3.4 The need for monitoring . 25 SUMMARY 6 3.5 The need for knowledge about the effect and design of actions . 26 3.6 Actions to increase knowledge . 29 1 BACKGROUND 8 4 GOOD HABITATS 30 1.1 Why are pollinators and pollination important? . 9 4.1 The private sector. .30 1.2 The status of pollinators . 11 4.2 The environmental authorities . .30 1.3 What do pollinators need? . 12 4.3 The agricultural sector . .32 1.4 Threats and challenges . 13 4.4 The transport sector . .34 1.5 National commitment for pollinators . 16 4.5 The municipalities . 36 1.6 International work on pollinators . .20 4.6 The Armed Forces . 38 4.7 Cross-sector actions . 38 4.8 Actions for good habitats . 40 2 GOALS AND FOCUS AREAS 21 2.1 National goals for agriculture. .21 5 COMMUNICATION 41 2.2 National and international goals for biodiversity . .21 5.1 Communication activity / measures . 42 2.3 Goals and focus areas for the national strategy . 22 6 IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP 43 3 INCREASING KNOWLEDGE 23 . 23 3.1 International knowledge status – IPBES APPENDICES 46 3.2 Existing national knowledge sources . 24 3 Foreword The Government has published a national more, about trends in pollinator populations strategy, as requested by the Norwegian and habitats, and about which actions are most Parliament (Storting), with the aim of ensuring effective. continued diversity of wild bees and other pollinating insects. The strategy has been developed by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Pollinators play vital roles in ecosystems and in food in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry production. At an international level, the decline in of Climate and Environment, the Norwegian numbers of these beneficial insects is on the agenda Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, of the IPBES (the Intergovernmental Science-Policy the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), Communications, the Norwegian Ministry of with some countries having drawn up their own Defence, the Norwegian Ministry of Education strategies. and Research and the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The Norwegian Agriculture One important objective of this strategy is to Agency and the Norwegian Environment Agency, establish common goals and focus areas for a with contributions from defence and transport coordinated national commitment that builds on agencies, have prepared the technical report what has already been initiated in the public and for the strategy. Experts and organisations have private sectors. Anyone who manages an area of contributed with their knowledge and experience. land can make a difference for pollinators, and the effect of individual efforts will be reinforced by In connection with work on strategy, there has means of effective cross-sector coordination. This been dialogue with interested parties in both strategy can help to strengthen the knowledge the public and private sectors and in research base and target established actions, as well as environments, including through start-up to identify and implement new actions that are meetings, dialogue meetings and written essential in order to secure the living conditions contributions. We wish to thank all those who necessary for pollinators in the long term. have assisted with their great commitment and useful contributions, and we look forward to While there is sufficient knowledge to implement further dialogue on following up the strategy. targeted actions, it is also necessary to find out 4 Jon Georg Dale Ola Elvestuen Monica Mæland Ketil Solvik-Olsen MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE MINISTER OF CLIMATE AND MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND MODERNISATION AND COMMUNICATIONS Photo: Torbjørn Tandberg Photo: Photo: Bjørn H. Stuedal/ Photo: Paul Paiewonsky Photo: Olav Heggø/Fotovisjon Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment Frank Bakke-Jensen Iselin Nybø Jan Tore Sanner Terje Søviknes MINISTER OF DEFENCE MINISTER OF RESEARCH AND MINISTER OF EDUCATION MINISTER OF PETROLEUM Photo: Sturlason HIGHER EDUCATION AND INTEGRATION AND ENERGY Photo: Marte Garmann Photo: Marte Garmann Photo: OED/NTBscanpix 5 Summary This strategy highlights three focus areas to monitoring of pollinating species and land achieve the goal of ensuring viable populations areas that are important for pollinating insects of wild bees and other pollinating insects in through relevant programmes and systems, order to sustain pollination in food production such as Artsprosjektet, surveys of habitat types, and natural ecosystems: increasing scientific Natur i Norge, Naturbase, ecological base maps, knowledge, providing good habitats and improving Kilden and 3Q1 communication on the subject. The efforts of • The voluntary sector is encouraged to use the public and private sectors, public–private the artsobservasjonar.no portal to report partnerships and targeted, better-coordinated observations of pollinating insects cross-sector initiatives will provide a solid framework for following up the strategy. • The environmental authorities will work to continue and develop the national monitoring Enhanced national commitment requires follow- programme for butterflies and bumblebees up of all focus areas in multiple sectors, as well • The environmental authorities and relevant as partnership between the various sectors and sectors are to provide guiding signals about administrative levels. In order to stimulate greater the need for additional scientific knowledge to collaboration, a meeting place, or “pollinator forum”, their knowledge institutions and agencies. The will be established for stakeholders in the private Research Council of Norway will follow up the sector and those in the public sector at various strategy within relevant programmes administrative levels and in relevant knowledge environments. The Norwegian Environment Agency • The agricultural sector is to increase scientific is responsible for leading the forum. knowledge about practical solutions and actions that agriculture can use to ensure the provision The pollinator forum is intended to help to ensure of good habitats for pollinators that the total effect of all current and future actions • The transport sector will continue to develop will reinforce each other and contribute to achieving scientific knowledge about correct habitat the objectives. Through the pollinator forum, the management and increase scientific knowledge Norwegian Environment Agency will prepare an about pollinating insects and important habitats overarching action plan during 2019, in line with the alongside transport arteries sectors’ areas of responsibility and priorities. • The municipal authorities should improve Actions to increase scientific knowledge about their own awareness about how they can pollinating insects, what constitutes good habitats, improve conditions for pollinators in the green threats and threat trends, and effective actions: infrastructure • Increasing collaboration between research • Relevant sectors are to work to strengthen environments, as well as the business and 1 3Q – Programme for status monitoring and verifying results in cultural landscapes in agriculture 6 Photo: Guri Tveito administrative sectors, in order to fill gaps in local topsoil where appropriate, or sow knowledge. pollinator-friendly seed mixes where these are commercially available • The relevant authorities are responsible for evaluating the effects of measures and subsidy • The municipal authorities should give schemes. consideration to pollinator-friendly development and administration of municipal green Actions to prevent loss of habitats and to increase infrastructure the extent of continuous good habitats for pollinators throughout the life cycle: • The municipal authorities should give consideration to pollinator-friendly land in • The private sector is encouraged to give municipal land-use planning, such as through consideration to pollinators when managing land thematic municipal master plans on biodiversity • The environmental and agricultural sectors will • All sectors are to follow up the National strategy continue to facilitate the conservation and correct against invasive alien species. Measures aimed at management of good habitats for pollinators combating such threats will be strengthened by means of a new action plan • The Norwegian Environment Agency and the Norwegian Agriculture Agency will clarify what • All sectors are to work to reduce the use of actions the administration can take to facilitate chemical pesticides and the risk of using such the production of and access to pollinator- chemicals in line with regulations and the Action friendly flower seeds plan for sustainable use of pesticides • The environmental authorities will create action Actions for communicating information about plans for endangered species where these pollinators and pollinator-friendly practice to all are the most appropriate instrument, and will target groups (the private sector and public–private consider other actions, such as cross-sector partnerships will play important roles in conveying management