POLLIVAL to assess Irish pollinator value
Posted on: 07 September 2016
Professor in Botany at Trinity College Dublin, Jane Stout, will help to build a ‘more sustainable tomorrow’ after securing funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She will lead project POLLIVAL to assess the market and non-market value of pollination services in Ireland.
Pollination is a vital service provided by a plethora of animals, including honeybees, bumble bees, and other insects, as well as some birds and mammals. Many of our food crops rely on animal pollinators to produce large yields.
Assessing ‘natural capital’ and the ecosystem services which flow from it are key national environmental research priorities for the EPA. Hopes are high that such assessments will enable us to account for natural capital in decision-making processes and stimulate more sustainable use of our natural resources.
POLLIVAL will provide a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of the market value of pollination services in Ireland using best-practice methods. Professor Stout and her team will identify and fill data gaps in terms of the pollination dependency of different Irish crops. In addition, the team will deliver a method for assessing the non-market values of pollination services, including supporting, regulating, and cultural services.
Finally, by investigating future drivers of change, including climate, policy and consumer behaviour, the team hopes to accurately predict how the respective values may change. By understanding and communicating the total value of key ecosystem services, such as pollination, the research team will develop a better appreciation of natural capital for policy and planning decisions at many levels and across several sectors.
Professor Stout said: “Although previously we have thought of pollination services in terms of how much they are worth for crop production, pollinators also provide services to a wide range of plants which have direct and indirect benefits to humans, including non-food products such as medicines and cosmetics, and those that provide food for other wild animals in the ecosystem.”
“By only looking at the economic value of crop pollination, we overlook the far wider value of pollinators. The natural capital approach involves valuing nature in a more comprehensive way and not just in terms of short-term monetary gains. This is the approach we are going to take in this research project.”