Bee demise could cost UK ‘£1.8bn a year’

Friends of the Earth is launching a new campaign to protect bees amid increasing reports that neonicotinoid pesticides are damaging the health and life cycle of bees.

The group is launching the Bee Cause campaign in a bid to help protect bees from being wiped out in this country.

Friends of the Earth said in recent years Britain had lost half its honey bees kept in hives, wild honey bees were nearly extinct and solitary bees were declining.

But if the UK cannot rely on bees for pollinating fruit and vegetables it would cost £1.8bn a year to hand-pollinate UK crops, according to research by the University of Reading for the group.

The group is calling on the government to back a British bee action plan and take steps on the use of pesticides and fund experts to ensure bee populations are restored.

Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth nature campaigner, told the Press Association: “Unless we halt the decline in British bees our farmers will have to rely on hand-pollination, sending food prices rocketing.”

A DEFRA spokesman said: “Bees are important for our farming industry and our food – we couldn’t do without them, and thanks to the hard work of beekeepers we won’t have to.

“We’re supporting beekeepers with advice and research on bee health, and we’re working with beekeeping groups on a 10-year plan to protect and improve the health of honey bees.

“The UK has a robust system for assessing risks from pesticides. We keep all the science under review and we will not hesitate to act if we need to.”

For part of the campaign, the Friends of the Earth is creating a temporary wildflower meadow by the National Theatre in London. It is also giving away 20,000 packets of wildflower seeds and launching an online petition to lobby the government.