KATHMANDU, MAY 7
A new international study conducted in Nepal has warned that the decline in insect pollinators could severely affect nutrition, public health and rural livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable farming communities.
The study, published in Nature and led by the University of Bristol, found that wild insect pollinators directly contribute to food security and household income in smallholder farming communities in Nepal.
Researchers spent a year in 10 farming villages in Jumla district, tracking the diets of 776 people, conducting more than 15,000 dietary recall surveys and recording over 10,000 insect-crop interactions involving 503 species.
According to the study, pollinators account for 44 percent of household farming income and provide more than 20 percent of families' intake of vitamin A, folate and vitamin E, nutrients considered essential for child development and maternal health.
The report warned that continued decline in pollinators by 2030 could reduce vitamin A intake by eight percent and folate intake by seven percent in communities where more than half of children are already stunted. Complete pollinator loss could slash farming income by 44 percent and push an additional 18 percent of the population into micronutrient deficiency, it said.
Lead author Thomas Timberlake said biodiversity was fundamental to health, nutrition and livelihoods.
"Our study shows that biodiversity is not a luxury - it is fundamental to our health, nutrition and livelihoods," Timberlake said, adding that the findings highlighted both the risks posed by biodiversity loss and the opportunities to improve lives through nature-based solutions.
Co-author Samuel Myers said the research demonstrated how human wellbeing is closely linked to the health of natural ecosystems.
Similarly, Naomi Saville said more than half of the children in the surveyed communities were suffering from stunting largely due to poor diets dependent on insect-pollinated crops.
The study identified generalist pollinator species that visit multiple crops as "nutritional keystone species", noting that their decline could simultaneously affect several nutrients and crops.
Researchers said practical and low-cost measures such as planting wildflowers, conserving native bees and reducing pesticide use could help restore pollinator populations, improve crop yields and increase household income. Active pollination management could raise farming income by up to 15 percent, the study added.
The research team, involving universities and organisations from Nepal, the UK, the US and Finland, said the findings are also helping shape Nepal's proposed National Pollinator Strategy aimed at promoting pollinator-friendly agriculture and strengthening food security.