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<p>Protecting pollinators is a priority for this Government. The Government supports
two major events to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators
and encourage people to take action.</p><p> </p><p>Firstly, our ‘Bees’ Needs’ campaign,
which we run with a number of partners. In July 2018, with the generous support of
our hosts, Shaftesbury PLC, we put on a week long event in Carnaby Street (renamed
‘Carnabee’ Street for the week) to raise awareness of the steps we can all take to
protect pollinators. With immense gratitude to our hosts Shaftesbury PLC, this event
will be repeated this year from 8 to 14 July.</p><p> </p><p>Defra also organises,
in partnership with the Green Flag Awards, an annual Bees’ Needs Champions Awards
to recognise and celebrate examples of exemplary initiatives undertaken by schools,
local authorities, universities, community groups and bee farmers to support pollinators.</p><p>
</p><p>The Government is taking a range of other steps to protect pollinator species.
In 2014 we published a ten year National Pollinator Strategy, setting out how the
Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together
to improve the status of the 1,500 or so pollinating insect species in England.</p><p>
</p><p>We are also creating habitat for pollinators. In 2015, we introduced new and
simple wildlife ‘packages’ within Countryside Stewardship to make it easier for farmers
to provide flower rich margins or pollen and nectar plots on fields to support wild
pollinators.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also recently announced £60,000 to develop
pollinator habitat mapping and is supporting largescale projects to bring landowners
and conservationists together to provide habitat in Devon and Hampshire. Natural England,
our statutory nature conservation adviser, continues to work with a range of landowning
and NGO partners to support the recovery of threatened species such as the barberry
carpet moth, shorthaired bumblebee and chequered skipper butterfly.</p><p> </p><p>We
are supporting monitoring work. In collaboration with research institutes and volunteer
organisations, we have established a pollinator monitoring and research partnership
to gather further data and improve our understanding of the status of pollinators
and pollination services in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking steps to reduce pressures
on pollinators. We have implemented science led restrictions on neonicotinoids based
on scientific evidence that they carry risks to pollinators. We continue to tackle
threats from invasive species, such as the Asian hornet, and protect honey bees from
pests and diseases through the National Bee Unit’s nationwide team of bee inspectors.</p><p>
</p><p>We are safeguarding honey bee health. Collaboration has been a central tenet
of the work by the Government and Bee Inspectors to protect honey bee health. Along
with beekeeping associations, the Government has carried out a decade of work under
the Healthy Bees Plan, drafted in 2009 as a means of sustaining our honey bee population.
We will be reviewing this work this year and using valuable lessons from this to develop
our future strategy.</p>
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