Fewer insects, fewer nutritious crops: pollinator decline puts our health at risk - University of Bristol

Biodiversity loss is directly threatening human health and welfare, according to new research led by the University of Bristol. The study, published in Nature today [6 May] reveals, for the first time, how the decline of insect pollinators undermines essential ecosystem services that support human nutrition and livelihoods. Biodiversity also plays a vital role in supporting people’s everyday health and resilience, too.

It’s been long known that insect pollinators are vital for producing many of the fruits, vegetables and pulses that supply essential vitamins and minerals in our diets, yet clear evidence of how their decline affects people has been limited.

Working in ten smallholder farming villages and their surrounding landscapes in Nepal, the study traced the full chain of connections between wild pollinators, crop yields and the nutrients families rely on. By tracking diets, crop nutrients and the insects visiting those crops over a year, the research team showed how pollinators directly support both nutrition and livelihoods.

The study found insect pollinators are crucial for both the nutrition and income of farming families, and pollinators were responsible for 44% of people’s farming income and contributed more than 20% of their intake of vitamin A, folate and vitamin E. When pollinators decline, families risk poorer nutrition leading to higher vulnerability to illness and infections, and deeper cycles of poverty and poor health. One quarter of the global population currently suffer from this ‘hidden hunger’.