European efforts to halt the decline of bees, butterflies and other pollinators are being undermined by conflicting policies across agriculture, pesticides, land management and climate regulation, according to a major new scientific white paper.
The report, produced by researchers from several EU-funded projects, argues that pollinator protection remains fragmented despite growing recognition of the vital role insects play in food production, biodiversity and ecosystem health. The authors warn that current policy approaches often work against one another, limiting progress towards restoring pollinator populations.
A key criticism is directed at the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which provides billions of euros in support to farmers each year. While recent reforms introduced environmental ‘eco-schemes’, the researchers say relatively few contain measures specifically designed to benefit pollinators. Instead, most focus on broader environmental objectives such as soil conservation or climate adaptation.
The report argues that current funding mechanisms frequently reward agricultural production without adequately recognising the value of pollination services or long-term habitat creation. Scientists are calling for pollinator stewardship to become an explicit objective of agricultural policy and for greater incentives to support wildflower-rich habitats, hedgerows and pesticide-free forage areas.
Researchers also express concern about pesticide regulation. They note that pollinators are rarely exposed to a single chemical in isolation and instead face a combination of pesticides, pathogens and nutritional stress. Yet regulatory assessments often continue to evaluate risks one substance at a time, potentially underestimating real-world impacts.
The authors are urging EU policymakers to adopt stronger pesticide risk assessments, implement integrated pest management more widely and establish post-authorisation monitoring programmes to identify unforeseen environmental impacts.
The report also raises concerns about recent proposals to simplify environmental regulations through the EU’s “Omnibus” packages. While intended to reduce bureaucracy, the researchers warn that some changes could weaken environmental safeguards, including protections for water bodies and wildlife habitats that support pollinators.
Beyond farming and chemicals, the paper highlights the importance of seed policy, land-use planning and emerging genetic technologies. Greater crop diversity, better access to regionally adapted seed varieties and precautionary oversight of gene-edited crops are all identified as important measures for supporting pollinator health.
The researchers conclude that protecting pollinators requires a more joined-up approach across government. With climate change expected to become an increasingly significant driver of biodiversity loss, they argue that safeguarding pollinators offers a test case for the wider policy reforms needed to tackle both the nature and climate crises simultaneously.
The full research can be read here.