Study Finds Pollinators Critical to Nutrition and Rural Incomes

Protecting pollinators such as bees and hoverflies can improve both human nutrition and household incomes, according to new research highlighted by NPR.

A bee pollinates flowering crops. 

Thomas Timberlake said understanding the link between biodiversity and human health is challenging because ecological systems are highly complex.

Researchers traced local diets to specific crops and then examined the role pollinators play in supporting those food sources.

The study, published in the journal Nature, found that pollinating insects in rural Nepal account for more than 20% of people’s intake of essential vitamins and over 40% of household income in some communities.

Researchers warned that declining insect populations — driven by climate change and habitat destruction — could worsen economic hardship and nutritional deficiencies.

However, they also found that simple conservation measures, such as planting wildflowers, could help reverse the trend.

Kelvin Mulungu of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center said biodiversity protection benefits vulnerable populations by improving nutrition, health, and income opportunities.