85% of the pollination of flowering plants is mainly carried out by a large diversity of insects Shutterstock

85% of the pollination of flowering plants is mainly carried out by a large diversity of insects Shutterstock

According to government figures, one in ten kinds of pollinating insects found in the European Union are threatened with extinction while populations of bees and butterflies are in decline as a result of human activities.

Yet, pollinating insects contribute to more than a third of worldwide food production, bringing an economy value of €14.2bn to the EU.

In a bid to halt and hopefully reverse their decline, the Luxembourg environment ministry is drawing up a national action plan. The plan will be comprised of concrete measures in the following policy areas:

  • agricultural environment, urban environment, pesticides and other pollutants, light pollution, climate change, diseases and invasive alien species--and will be structured around three pillars:
  • measures to improve our knowledge of pollinators and the pollination service in Luxembourg;
  • concrete and practical measures to tackle the main causes of insect mortality and improve their living conditions in Luxembourg;
  • measures to support awareness, involve society and encourage collaboration between the actors involved.

To consult stakeholders, a national workshop will be held on 14 January 2020 at the environment ministry offices, followed by three regional workshops to mobilise voluntary players.

The outcome will inform the action plan. Anyone wishing to participate in discussions, share ideas, projects or knowledge, is urged to do so via the specially created platform planpollinisateur.org, which will be accessible from 5 December 2019.