“Pollinators and Food Insecurity in ‘Developing’ States”
Elizabeth Anderson
Dr. Timothy Carter
PSCI / ESS 260
9 November 2020
Pollinators and Food Insecurity in “Developing” States
Climate change has affected nearly every aspect of human life from economy to military to politics, but it has affected no one so disproportionately as residents of developing countries, particularly in South America and Asia. Due to high levels of fossil fuel emissions from nations like the United States and China, global warming has persisted and increased, leading to rapidly changing habitats that leave plant and animal species struggling to adapt fast enough. In fact, most species are not able to adapt quickly enough and must either migrate or die out. This has detrimental effects on biodiversity and natural balance, but it causes catastrophic harm to human populations as well. When essential species are lost, humans are often left without necessary food, medicine, and other resources essential to survival. Many of these essential species are insect pollinators like honeybees, butterflies, and beetles. While some studies like that conducted within Aargau, Switzerland demonstrated that there are ways to compensate for native pollinator loss in agri-environment schemes, most, including those in Carajas National Forest in Brazil and throughout New Zealand, have demonstrated the need for immediate and thorough climate action. The loss of pollinators in developing states exacerbates food insecurity by diminishing crops needed to strengthen local economies and feed populations and poses a great risk to human survival.
Food insecurity is one of the most pressing issues facing human populations throughout the developing world today, with more than 800 million people globally going to bed without food each night. (“Agriculture”) As projections for the world’s population depict a continued rise in growth rates through mid to late century, with an addition of several billion more humans to the planet, food insecurity is predicted to become an even greater problem over the next several decades. (Piper) In fact, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the world must double current food production in order to meet the demands of expected population growth by 2050. (“Agriculture”) Regions of the world most affected by food insecurity now and in the future are rural, sparsely populated areas in underdeveloped and underprivileged parts of the world. These places are often populated by indigenous or other minority communities such as those in the Amazon rainforest or aboriginal lands in Oceania. These regions also typically rely on agriculture as a food source, both through direct farm-to-table harvesting and as a source of income. The agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, accounts for approximately 57.4 percent of total employment within the area, and at a greater scale agriculture contributes to the survival of approximately two billion people worldwide. (“Industrial”)
Many of the crops so heavily relied upon for food and economic stability are pollinator-dependent; in fact, animal pollination (mostly by insects) is necessary for approximately 70 percent of all major crop species, and these species make up about 35 percent of global food production. (Gonzalez-Varo, et al.) Not only are these crops essential for the global agriculture sector of the economy, many of them also provide nutrients vital to human health and survival. Legumes such as pigeon peas and Bambara nuts, for example, carry proteins, amino acids, fibers, and minerals that contribute to proper functioning of systems of the human body. Proteins can be especially important in places like India, where a large portion of the population is vegetarian or vegan (or simply cannot afford meat in some cases) and must gain protein from sources other than meat. Increased presence of pollinators in and around legume crops can increase crop yields for farmers relying upon these harvests. (Otieno, et al.)
Legumes are not the only types of food that are key to preventing malnutrition or undernutrition in developing areas. Most lipids as well as a number of micronutrients that are essential to growth and development of the human body and mind can only be found in animal-pollinated plants. For example, 98 percent of vitamin C is found in pollinator-dependent crops, so without the presence of pollinators where these crops grow, vitamin C could become extremely scarce. The same goes for vitamin A, 70 percent of which is found in animal-pollinated crops. (Eilers, et al.) Such scarcity would lead to vitamin deficiency not only in underdeveloped or rural areas, but in the developed world as well. Malnutrition is detrimental to societies, economies, and governments worldwide, as it can pull focus from other pressing issues, lead to civil unrest and violence, and lead to disease and death. These all tend to disproportionately affect minorities, particularly indigenous communities, as well, as such groups are already dealing with major issues like discrimination, poverty, addiction, and mental health issues at a much higher rate than more privileged populations.
Therefore, pollinators are essential not only for food security in impoverished communities and regions, but for cooperation and peace at both state and inter-state levels. And yet pollinator populations are decreasing at an alarming rate due to a number factors, one of the most major and under-discussed being climate change. Global warming caused by anthropogenic climate change (ex. the exponential growth in use of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution) has severe consequences within pollinator populations, particularly in regions where agriculture is absolutely essential to survival like those surrounding the equator. One result of increased temperatures is geographic range shifts, and subsequent mismatches between pollinators and their food plants. Geographic range shifts can occur when temperature in a species’ or population’s initial habitat shifts outside of the range suitable for that species or population, forcing it to migrate to a different location. (Imbach, et al.) This often leaves gaps in the initial ecosystem, where food plants may no longer have organisms to consume them and other plants may no longer have organisms to pollinate them. In the “new” habitat of the species or population, pollinators may find that they have no adequate food source or consume the food source of another species or population, disrupting the ecosystem’s food web. Geographic range shifts and subsequent spatial and temporal mismatches can also leave room for invasive species to disrupt ecosystems further, particularly as many non-native insect species thrive in warmer climates. (Gonzalez-Varo, et al.)
Another negative result of global warming on pollinator populations is the disruption of overwintering for many insect pollinator species, even those in temperate and tropical regions. Loss of snow and ice as a result of higher temperatures leaves wintering pollinators without protection from severe air temperatures, as most rely on snow and ice cover as a “buffered” and “thermally stable” microclimate during the winter season. (Bale, et al.) Even if temperatures are warm enough to make winter air suitable for wintering pollinators, there is still a high chance for extreme climatic events, which increase as a result of global warming. Erratic temperature changes, whether from cold to warm or warm to cold, can lead to disrupted freeze-thaw cycles in wintering pollinator insects and put severe stress on their bodies, which could cause shorter life spans or death in most cases. Although it could be argued that these species can adapt, climate change, global warming, and the melting of polar snow and ice is occurring at a rate too rapid for organisms to adequately adapt in a parallel manner. With many pollinating insects in warmer regions already being pushed to the limits of the temperatures their bodies can handle, more physical stress could quickly prove fatal. These species also often lack stable environmental “cues” exhibited in more temperate regions that would allow them to develop “plasticity,” or an ability to survive in changing environmental conditions. (Bale, et al.)
A number of studies have been conducted around the world to examine the specific effects of climate change on pollinator species. While some have shown positive results, many have yielded the opposite. A study conducted in Carajas National Forest, located in the eastern Amazon rainforest in Brazil, allowed scientists to make predictions about the future of the approximately 200 pollinating bee species within the area. They projected that at least 181 of these species, or 95 percent of the species in the forest, will lose occurrence area in upcoming decades, with as few as seven species, or four percent, able to find suitable habitats by the year 2070. Such drastic loss of pollinators would be catastrophic for farming communities in the area as well as the economy of Brazil since the annual value of pollinator-dependent crops in areas surrounding Carajas was over $17 million U.S.D. in both 2017 and 2018 and the region is representative of the entire Amazon region, if not the entire country. Over 90 percent of the municipalities producing analyzed crop species are projected to see major economic loss as a result of pollinator loss. Scientists also found that the most significant environmental changes caused by global warming in the Carajas area specifically would include altered levels of rainfall and temperatures, leading to shifts in species composition and damaged ecosystem functionality. (Giannini, et al.)
Another study, conducted on bok choy cropland throughout New Zealand, found that the more time given to native pollinators to access bok choy crops, the greater the seed yield of those crops. Emphasis was placed on native versus non-native pollinators, as many New Zealand farmers rent European honeybee hives during pollination. Unfortunately, this method does not promote population growth in native species, and in many cases can leave native species with competition for their primary food source. With native pollinator species already decreasing in crop areas, the use of non-native species is more harmful than helpful to the environment. Future loss of native pollinators could result in severe economic loss in New Zealand just as it is predicted to in Brazil, with a sharp cut of up to 728 million N.Z.D. per year potentially. This is nearly half of the 1.96 billion N.Z.D. value of pollination services in 18 of New Zealand’s major crops. As bok choy crops are representative of the approximately one third of New Zealand’s other crop species reliant on pollination, they show an urgent need for conservation of native pollinator species and an even greater need for the combat of rising temperatures globally. (Sandhu, et al.)
On the other hand, a study conducted in Aargau, Switzerland determined that in some cases, non-native species can help without harming the ecosystem, acting to supplement native species until the latter increases in population size to sufficient extent. The study also found that in that particular area, greater species richness and abundance of pollinators contributed to a greater fruit and seed yield as well as an increase in the mass of fruits and seeds. (Albrecht, et al.) While this information is useful, it also comes from research performed in a more developed nation as well as an area with cooler climate less affected by the results of global warming at this moment in time. There is much to be learned from this study that can be applied to developing nations, but only with the cooperation of world governments who may feel there are more pressing issues to spend money on. For example, Aargau is a region that implements the use of ecological compensation areas, in which measures are taken to make up for lack of certain species and resources needed for those species while still promoting growth in both. A significant amount of money, research, and time is required to implement these in other areas, however, as they differ for every type of environment. (Albrecht, et al.)
Despite the number of negative consequences, there are likely some benefits that will arise for pollinator species out of global warming. In some coffee-producing areas in Latin America, bee richness and coffee suitability is predicted to increase by 10 to 22 percent; however, in other areas a decline in bee richness and coffee suitability by 34 to 51 percent is expected. These numbers could also be negatively affected by the rapid deforestation occurring throughout Latin America, particularly in the Amazon. Studies show that pollinator activity is increased near forested areas and that most of the current and future suitable habitats for pollinators (91 to 97 percent) are located within 1600 meters of a forest. (Imbach, et al.) In other cases, rising temperatures may provide longer summers, thus decreasing pollinator mortality rates in some regions. (Bale, et al.) However, this could be countered by the fact that elevated temperatures have been shown to reduce nectar production and consumption by some pollinator species. (Gonzalez-Varo, et al.) In most cases of positive future changes, there are drawbacks as well, which in many cases outweigh any of the benefits provided by higher temperatures.
Efforts have been made to boost pollinator population growth and survival rates, although most have taken place in more developed nations like the United States, where the phrase “Save the Bees” is commonly used and discussed particularly by students. In many cases, the movement to assist animal pollinators is not focused around the effects of climate change, although they can still help mitigate changing temperatures and environments. Pushes for farmers to shift to different crops or methods of growing crops in preparation for future climate conditions are becoming more commonplace, as well as protests against mass deforestation and encouragement to plant more trees, flowering plants, and other food plants for pollinators near deforested areas and farmland. (Imbach, et al.) Agri-environment schemes like ecological compensation areas and intensively managed meadows in Aargau are also being used more, although these consume time and funds that are often too great for individuals to support without government assistance. (Albrecht, et al.) The majority of these solutions focus on the promotion and protection of biodiversity within pollinator habitats, as a stable ecosystem with a variety of species, all playing different roles, is the best way to maintain stable population levels. And while it may be more difficult to change the temperature of ecosystems, other factors can be altered to make the area more suitable for continued survival of native species.
Food insecurity is not a problem that can be quickly eliminated, but it is one that can be remedied through a strong agricultural sector. This can only occur through the conservation of pollinator species in their native habitats, which is impossible if action is not taken against climate change and rising temperatures as a result of global warming. As such a large portion of the world’s population, mostly in rural and developing communities, depends upon agriculture for survival and preservation of already-disappearing cultures and communities, pollinator populations must be able to remain stable or increase. If this does not happen, issues like civil unrest, international disputes, and a weakening economy will be exacerbated by a lack of proper nutrition in a large percentage of the global population. Research has shown that pollinator populations are most affected by changes, particularly rises, in temperature, which can cause geographic range shifts, mismatches in pollinators and their food plants, and disrupted wintering habits. In rural parts of Brazil surrounding the Amazon rainforest, pollinator populations are expected to experience rapid and widespread decline over the next several decades. In New Zealand, non-native pollinators have been used in an attempt to make up for a lack of native species, resulting in further decline of those native species. In Switzerland, agri-environment schemes have been proven to help, but not fully compensate for declining pollinator populations. If more immediate and extreme measures are not taken to not only stabilize pollinator populations, but prevent further damage by climate change, stability of nations around the world could be rocked simply by lack of sufficient food resources.
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