Legislation and pollination: Recommendations for policymakers and scientists

Abstract

Global biodiversity declines and concomitant increases in diseases and calamities indicate the need for well-founded measures to provide sustainable development, guaranteeing material progress and social welfare, while safeguarding biodiversity. Public policies are important in this context as they provide norms for actions to deal with economic and socio-ecological problems. Nevertheless, scientists and legislators have conflicting opinions; perhaps due to lack of knowledge on both sides. Scientists provide information that is never used by legislators and legislators provide laws that do not provide biodiversity protection. Review and understanding of local legislation are thus crucial to understand those relationships and to provide robust suggestions for change. Here, we review Brazilian legislation concerning pollinator-relevant policies to show how these subnational policies fit calls from the science community. We also compared Brazilian legislation related to pollinator and biome protection to legislation in other countries. We found 314 national, state, and municipal laws on apiculture, meliponiculture, economic incentives, pesticides, pollinator awareness, and city planning. Although scientists are producing high-quality science to provide information for legislative standards, that information is not being used. Brazilian policies are numerous, but, in general, lack the standards to provide sustainable conservation. The main flaws are related to the lack of knowledge about non-bee pollinators, integrated pest management and GM crop risks, and lack of long-term monitoring of pollinators and pollination. More comprehensive and interdisciplinary legislation is needed to accomplish crop and biodiversity protection. Brazilian scientists should be consulted more often and participate in proposals for laws relating to pollinator conservation. © 2021 Associação Brasileira de Ciência Ecológica e Conservação