- Solutions for more and better insect support at landscape level
- Focus on the role of agriculture, municipalities, companies and citizens
- EU LIFE project “Insect-promoting regions” invited to the European conference “More than just Flower Strips” in Frankfurt am Main
- Participants from science, business, agriculture, administration and nature conservation
Radolfzell, 27.05.2025; Suppose vehicle production in Germany were to collapse by 76 percent. The outcry in politics and society would be impossible to ignore. The fact that the biomass of flying insects in Germany has declined by 76 percent over a period of 27 years, on the other hand, hardly triggers any public reaction. Yet 75 percent of the most important crop species depend on pollination by insects.
How can the loss of insects be counteracted? Around 80 participants from science, business, agriculture, administration and nature conservation discussed possible solutions at the European conference “More than just Flower Strips”. The project partners of the EU LIFE project “Insect-Friendly Regions” (IFR) had invited participants to the one-day professional exchange.
The conference guests are aware of the urgency of insect conservation. And they all agreed that insect conservation is a task that no single player can tackle alone: “To promote insects effectively, we need more land – we need more than just flower strips at the edge of fields,” emphasized Patrick Trötschler, Managing Director of the Lake Constance Foundation, which coordinated the IFR project. Consequently, alliances between all land users are necessary: between agriculture – with the support of the food industry and politics – municipalities, companies and nature conservation.
Pollinators have great economic benefits – and yet they are highly endangered
Insects ensure 35 percent of the global yield in food production. In Germany, the economic benefit of pollination is estimated at around 3.8 billion euros per year. At the same time, various studies show an alarming decline in flying insects – both in terms of the number of species and individuals. In his keynote speech, Andreas Gumbert, Directorate-General for Environment, Nature Conservation and Biodiversity at the European Commission, referred to the latest Grassland Butterfly Index, according to which the population of 15 typical grassland butterfly species has declined by 50.4 percent, as shown by data from 18 EU Member States.
Insect decline has many causes – insect protection requires a variety of measures
The loss of species cannot be attributed to one single cause, emphasized Andreas Gumbert. Intensive agriculture with habitat impoverishment, fertilizers and pesticides, light pollution, climate change and invasive species are all contributing factors. The measures that need to be taken are correspondingly diverse – much more than just flower strips. Andreas Gumbert presented the European perspective on the protection of pollinators, including insights into the EU Pollinator Initiative. Its main objective is to reverse the loss of species of pollinator insects that are important for ecosystems and food supplies by 2030. It is based on three pillars: improving knowledge of pollinator decline and its causes and consequences; improving pollinator conservation and tackling the causes of their decline; and mobilizing society and promoting strategic planning and cooperation at all levels.
Projects show conditions for successful cooperation
In order to achieve the sustainable protection of insects and biodiversity across large contiguous areas, various land users worked together in the almost five-year “Insect-promoting regions” project. More than 1,300 people were trained, including representatives of local authorities and forestry administrations as well as numerous farmers and advisors. In seven insect-promoting regions (Allgäu, Lake Constance, Bliesgau, Hohenlohe, Northern Upper Rhine, Wendland and Vinschgau/South Tyrol), measures were implemented by more than 60 agricultural demonstration farms.
With KOOPERATIV from the University of Göttingen and FRAMEwork, the conference presented further projects that are testing strategies for involving all stakeholders, networking approaches and coordination measures. The result: There is no blueprint for establishing an insect-promoting region. Regional circumstances, socio-cultural situations and the individual commitment of individual stakeholders shape the respective design.
The IFR project has identified the following prerequisites for the path to an insect-friendly landscape, which Patrick Trötschler presented: “Pioneers who are already doing it well or who are open to new measures are helpful at the beginning – these can be farmers or local authorities. Different groups of stakeholders are also important for promoting insects, ideally working together in a well-coordinated manner. This requires someone who takes care and coordinates. High quality implementation in the landscape requires expertise and knowledge transfer to and within the region. And finally, money is needed for all of this – ideally, public and private funds can be combined into an investment in regional biodiversity.”
The conference highlighted the individual land users and their specific options:
The role of agriculture
Intensive agriculture is considered to be one of the main causes of insect decline. It plays a key role in the conservation of biodiversity and the creation of sustainable ecosystems. Farmers are interested in this because they are directly dependent on the performance of insects: The diversity of pollinators influences the quality and quantity of agricultural production. Examples of how the implementation of measures can succeed were presented to the conference guests in presentations by the Lake Constance Foundation, the ifab Institute for Agroecology and Biodiversity and EU-LIFE PollinAction. Decisive for success: the measures must be simple, flexibly adaptable, scientifically sound and fairly rewarded. They are supported by the acquisition of skills through exchange at eye level and the farmers’ pride in what they have achieved by measuring success.
The role of the municipalities
The role of municipalities as drivers of biodiversity initiatives is often underestimated. However, sustainable nature conservation requires close cooperation with local decision-makers, administration and organizations on the ground, according to another conference subgroup. Best practice examples from the cities of Heilbronn and Leipzig and from the Blühende Landschaft network gave participants an impression of how local authorities can use criteria for selecting tenants as management tools, for example, or offer biodiversity promotion as a community task and educational program. The participation of various interest groups in decision-making processes proved to be a prerequisite for success.
The role of citizens
Few people are aware of their dependence on nature and healthy ecosystems. Even though bees are popular, the partners in the IFR project have found that the sense of responsibility for protecting insects is limited. Examples from the Thünen Institute, the University of Innsbruck and the Leibniz Institute show how people can be sensitized, inspired as citizen scientists and act as ambassadors. Although the effort involved in guiding volunteers is usually underestimated, it is worth it. This not only promotes competence among the population, but also provides science with data that would otherwise be difficult to collect.
The role of the food industry and politics
However, it is also clear that under the current framework conditions, biodiversity promotion is still associated with yield losses, increased workload and therefore higher costs, especially for farmers. How can the attractiveness and effectiveness of funding be increased? Examples of innovative funding and financing models and incentives were presented by the Öko-Institut, the Lake Constance Foundation and the Neumarkter Lammsbräu brewery. These resulted in the following demands: The combination of public and private funding must be made possible, just as the food trade must develop targeted and fair incentives.
“Insect protection is not sexy”
Consumers are still unwilling or unable to pay more for food produced in a biodiversity-friendly way due to a lack of labeling, which is probably due to a lack of knowledge about the importance and situation of biodiversity. This can also be seen in how difficult it is to use biodiversity protection in marketing in the food industry: “Insect protection is not sexy,” Patrick Trötschler summarized pointedly. Communication and education are necessary to create broad-based support for insect promotion, for effective insect protection at landscape level.
Udo Gattenlöhner, Managing Director of the co-organizer Global Nature Fund, vividly illustrated the lack of knowledge: the majority of Germans can distinguish car models, but only a few know the most important dragonfly species. No wonder, then, that the outcry in the face of insect loss is (still) muted.
Publication: As a result of the IFR project, the “Guidelines for more and better insect promotion at landscape level. Recommendations for agriculture and forestry, local authorities and companies” was published. It is supplemented by a comprehensive catalog of measures. It is available for download on the project website in German https://insect-responsible.org/leitfaden/ and in English https://insect-responsible.org/en/irsr_guidelines/.
The presentations of the conference are available for download on the website of the project “Insect supporting regions”: IRSR European Conference – LIFE – Insect Promoting Regions
The EU LIFE project “InsectPromoting Regions”
Funded by the EU, the “LIFE Insect Promoting Regions” project brings together different partners for a common goal: the sustainable protection of insects and biodiversity by and with different land users across larger contiguous areas. Regional biodiversity action plans were drawn up in seven insect-promoting regions.
Insect protection measures were tested on demonstration farms in each region. At the same time, farmers, advisors and food companies were trained and consumers were made aware of the issue. Other farmers were motivated to develop and implement an action plan to promote insects. The project also plays a role in creating attractive incentives for farmers as well as (financial) rewards for their commitment from public programs and the food industry. The approaches developed in this project are transferable to other regions.
The seven insect-promoting regions: Allgäu, Bliesgau, Lake Constance, Hohenlohe, Northern Upper Rhine, Wendland and Vinschgau in South Tyrol.
Project partners: Bodensee-Stiftung (coordination), Bäuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwäbisch Hall, Global Nature Fund, Nestlé Germany, Netzwerk Blühende Landschaft.