Biodiversity
The rich variety of plants and animals, known as biodiversity, is the foundation for sustainable agriculture and a healthy environment. Loss of biodiversity makes ecosystems more vulnerable to changes in the environment, with lower genetic diversity and fewer species to support fundamental ecosystem functions such as pollination.
Our business relies on biodiversity. We use the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops to develop ways to increase their productivity, reliability and nutritional quality. Syngenta is a member of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, a foundation committed to conserving crop diversity for global food security.
Syngenta is contributing to a study on how business and markets can be used to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The research emphasizes that all economies and businesses depend on the conservation of biodiversity at a fundamental level.
Sustainable agriculture techniques can benefit ecosystems in and around farmlands. These include improving soil structure and biodiversity by reducing tillage, and creating diverse habitats in field margins and other non-productive areas.
Farms using conservation agriculture techniques provide valuable habitats for birds, especially in winter, and promote nesting of certain breeds. For example, research by the EU Soil and Water Protection project (SOWAP) in the UK has shown that the number of skylark nests per hectare on untilled land can be as much as four times more than on tilled land.
Areas of unproductive farmland – along field margins, in areas that are difficult to farm or on low-yielding soils – can be used for the benefit of wildlife by creating valuable habitats. These measures provide significant environmental benefits with little or no effect on farm productivity. Syngenta is working in partnership with environmental organizations and farmers on a number of programs to encourage land owners to utilize these areas to promote biodiversity.
- Reversing the plight of the bumblebee in the UK
- Working with Earthwatch to promote biodiversity
- Wetland conservation in North America
- Forest protection in Guatemala
Reversing the plight of the bumblebee in the UK
Bumblebees are returning to UK farms, thanks to growers working with Syngenta to restore pollen and nectar-rich habitats.
Bumblebee populations on UK arable farms have declined by more than 70 percent over the past 30 years, primarily through loss of vital nectar food resources and nesting sites as cropping patterns have changed. One of the 20 species found in the UK has disappeared altogether, and three other species are on the verge of extinction.
Now Syngenta has pioneered and funded Operation Bumblebee – a major UK-wide initiative to put back the necessary habitat and revive the fortunes of the bumblebee, along with butterflies and other beneficial insects that thrive on pollen and nectar.
Operation Bumblebee encourages farmers to make use of field margins and pockets of land where crops cannot easily be grown by sowing a special flowering plant seed mix developed by Syngenta.
Farmers have responded enthusiastically. "The idea is to devote one hectare per farm to support biodiversity," says Geoff Coates, Business Development Manager, who has championed the project since its launch in 2004. "But once farmers get involved, many plant more." This has helped Syngenta meet its target to establish more than 1,000 hectares of pollen and nectar habitats by the end of 2007.
Fresh produce bearing the logo of the Syngenta Operation Bumblebee is now available to some 16 million consumers a week, thanks to a new agreement with Sainsbury's supermarkets. As a result, more than 300 major UK fresh produce growers (90 percent of the retailer's vegetable suppliers) will take part in the project over the next two years.
"Operation Bumblebee has the potential to reverse the perilous position for the UK’s rarest farmland bumblebee species, and Syngenta has the contacts and wherewithal to make it happen," Project advisor, Marek Nowakowski of the Farmed Environment Company.
For more information, visit www.operationbumblebee.co.uk.
Working with Earthwatch to promote biodiversity
In 2005, Syngenta entered a partnership with environmental organization Earthwatch Institute to promote biodiversity conservation measures on farms. Syngenta employees and external stakeholders take part in field expeditions to learn how agriculture and conservation work together in practice. The program was launched in the UK in 2006 and extended to France in 2007. A further project will be launched in Spain in 2008.
The UK expedition builds on Operation Bumblebee, an initiative to combat the decline in bumblebees and other beneficial insects on arable farms in the UK.
Mike Edwards, National Co-ordinator for Research at conservation group Hymettus, helped run the Earthwatch expedition for Syngenta employees in the UK. He says: “The aim was to give Syngenta employees an insight into biodiversity and some idea of what is involved in this type of research. We taught them how to identify different species of bumblebees and asked them to monitor the bees’ behaviour. The results showed that different species preferred pollen from different flowers, and, interestingly, certain species collect pollen from one type of flower and nectar from another. This underlines the point that there is no one solution to promote wildlife on farms; diversity is key.”
Wetland conservation in North America
Syngenta is partnering with wetland conservation charity Ducks Unlimited to maintain and restore waterfowl habitats across North America. We are providing products and expertise to establish grass buffers around the Chesapeake Bay. This Atlantic coast estuary – the largest in the USA – is an important winter habitat for migratory birds. Buffer zones help prevent soil particles and nitrogen from polluting the bay. Our TOUCHDOWN® herbicide is used to control non-native grasses and helps re-establish native species.
The conversion of native grass areas to arable farmland has significantly reduced the number of nesting wild ducks in North America, particularly in the Dakotas where around two thirds of North American wild ducks are hatched and reared. We are helping farmers make the transition to winter cereals to avoid spring tillage during crucial nesting periods.
In Canada, more than 85 farmers have participated in our training programs to help protect wetland habitats. A contribution of US$75,000 from Syngenta over three years has helped Ducks Unlimited to restore nearly 100 hectares of Canadian wetlands.
Forest protection in Guatemala
Syngenta is working with government and nongovernmental organizations to preserve the biodiversity of an important rainforest in Guatemala. The mist forest is one of the last remaining refuges of the quetzal bird and Monja Blanca orchid.
Creating a viable sustainable agricultural system is essential to prevent further deforestation by nomadic farmers in search of new land. More effective and safer use of crop protection products is crucial to maximize production and minimize risk of environmental damage.
Syngenta has developed and funded training for farmers, as well as supporting instructors traveling to isolated mountain villages to encourage best practice.
