Pollinators play a crucial role in the natural world, transporting pollen from one plant or flower to the next, enabling the plant to bear fruit which will provide food and nutrients for humans and wildlife, with approximately 90% of flowering plants relying on animals and insects for pollination (1). Pollinators are not only bees, but encompass a broad range of species including wasps, butterflies, beetles and hummingbirds. Canada is home to more than 800 species of pollinators which inhabit a wealth of diverse ecosystems and habitats, making them an important factor in ecosystem conservation (2).

The use of certain pesticides in agriculture and gardens can have extremely harmful effects on pollinators that are exposed to them, particularly bees. Native bee populations in Canada are rapidly declining, and the use of pesticides in gardens or on agricultural crops are particularly harmful to these species. One class of pesticide especially harmful to bees are Neonicotinoids, a group of widely used insecticides which are absorbed by plants and seep into pollen, often proving toxic to any bee coming in contact with the plant or pollen, radically modifying behavioral patterns, damaging immune systems or killing the pollinator (3). 

The importance of pollinators and the role they play in nature is now being recognized in Canada, prompting many major cities to develop Pollinator Protection Plans, creating targets and conservation efforts to ensure that pollinators and their habitats are protected and nurtured. For example, Toronto, Ontario, the largest city in Canada, has created the Pollinator Protection Strategy. The goal is to protect more than 360 species of bees, and 100 species of butterflies, with the vision of making Toronto a haven for a diverse range of pollinator species. Guiding principles of this action plan include prioritizing actions that sustain native pollinator biodiversity in Toronto, and to create and protect urban habitats, using native plants and trees, and to engage the community in these collaborative, city-wide projects (4).

Another Canadian city that has adopted a pollinator protection plan is Montreal, Quebec. Montreal’s 2022 – 2027 Pollinator Protection Plan specifically recognizes the global decline in biodiversity, and emphasizes the crucial role of pollinators in larger ecosystems. The plan calls for more diverse urban landscapes, with increased potential habitats through floral diversity and minimized pesticide use (5). 

These plans emphasize the vital importance of pollinators in the natural world, and provide a starting point in pollinator protection and habitat conservation for urban areas in Canada in that could be replicated globally, with widespread implementation of action plans such as these helping to nurture and protect these crucial species for us and the generations to come.

Photo credit: Bee flying around a purple Aster in Fitzroy Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada by F. Brown

Sources:

1.  Pollinators under threat – so what? 2016-08-10. United Nations Environment Program

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/pollinators-under-threat-so-what

2.  Pollinator Protection. 2021-06-29. Government of Canada

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety/pesticides-pest-management/growers-commercial-users/pollinator-protection.html

3.  How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees – The Science Behind the Role These Insecticides Play in Harming Bees. 2nd Edition. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

https://xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-neonicotinoids-can-kill-bees#:~:text=Neonicotinoids%20are%20a%20group%20of,making%20them%20toxic%20to%20bees.

4.  Pollinator Protection Strategy - City of Toronto

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmentally-friendly-city-initiatives/reports-plans-policies-research/draft-pollinator-strategy

5.  Pollinator protection plan: 2022-2027 objective. 23 November 2022. City of Montreal

https://montreal.ca/en/articles/pollinator-protection-plan-2022-2027-objective-18681