Pollinator Policy Integration in Nepalese Agricultural Systems
摘要
Pollination is an important regulating ecosystem service, though it has yet to be fully recognized as a significant agricultural input to the Nepalese agricultural system and beyond. This chapter describes the current status of pollinators and their importance for food and nutrition security nationally and globally, and suggests strategies for reversing pollinator decline by firmly integrating pollination into the Nepalese agricultural systems. Many crops would produce fewer or substantially lower quality fruits or seeds without animal pollination. Pollination plays a vital role in crop production that directly contributes to the conservation of agrobiodiversity and human well-being. In Karnali province, 70% of commonly grown crops are pollinator-dependent. However, pollination is absolutely neglected in the Nepalese agricultural system. Research, education and extension have paid insufficient attention to the management of pollination services, with serious implications for food and nutrition security. Similarly, universities and research institutions have insufficiently prioritized pollination-related studies and research, and these topics find limited space in the national curriculums and extension programs. These omissions stem from the lack of integration of pollinator conservation topics into relevant policy documents from the agriculture and forestry sector. We reviewed the existing literature on pollinator decline across the world, including findings from some research conducted in Nepal during different periods. In addition, we also reviewed important policy documents that include acts, policies, strategies and programs prepared by the Government of Nepal in the agriculture and forestry sector, and realized there is no integration of pollination management and pollinator conservation in our policy landscape. In this context, pollinator policy integration could provide a solution by driving the prioritization of pollinator conservation and management by government and non-government stakeholders, potentially leading to a reverse in the decline of pollinators and pollination deficits in the Nepalese agricultural systems. Therefore, this situation calls for concerted efforts from concerned stakeholders to integrate pollination into the national research, education and extension system so that it will play a key role in transforming the Nepalese agricultural sector.