Pollinator conservation: Advancing the National Red List Initiative

30 September 2024

Pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies and other insects, play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity and supporting food production. However, they face numerous threats, from habitat loss to climate change. Assessing their conservation status is essential to inform relevant conservation measures and policies. 

National Red Lists play a crucial role not only as indicators but also as tools for sound and unambiguous communication between governments and all other parties involved in species protection. National species protection policies and the protection plans resulting from them are largely based on these Red Lists and the studies underpinning them.

To address this, in September 2024, the second Buzzing Table event was organised, facilitating knowledge exchange and promoting best practices in assessing the extinction risks of pollinators while presenting the latest findings from the Safeguard project and various National Red List initiatives across Europe, discussing challenges, lessons learned, and future strategies.

The Buzzing Table gathered relevant policy actors, experts and decision-makers across different areas that can both benefit and support the development of the National Red List for Pollinators. In support of this, the event presented the Safeguard work on re-assessing the status and trends of European pollinators to support and inform on the development of the National Red List for Pollinators. The presentations fostered a discussion among the stakeholders to reflect on and explore the latest advancements in evaluating and conserving pollinator populations, with a specific focus on the National Red List of Pollinators. During the event, participants also engaged in discussions on the European Red List of Pollinators and explored challenges and resources associated with assessing this highly diverse and fundamental group of species.

The hybrid workshop was organised by the IUCN, the University of Mons, the University of Novi Sad, IUCN SSC Wild Bees SG, IUCN SSC Hoverflies SG and ICENCA, as part of the Horizon 2020 Safeguard research project, devoted to the National Red List for Pollinators.