Global Threats to Insect Pollinators: Integrating Science, Policy, and Practice for Conservation

Insect pollinators are fundamental to biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and global food security, providing indispensable pollination services to both wild plants and agricultural crops. Alarmingly, numerous studies document widespread and accelerating declines in pollinator populations, largely attributed to interacting drivers such as habitat loss, land-use change, pesticide exposure, climate change, invasive species, and emerging pathogens. These converging threats pose profound risks to ecosystem functioning, agricultural productivity, and human well-being at a global scale. Despite increasing awareness, research and conservation efforts remain fragmented across disciplines and regions. To safeguard the ecological and economic services provided by pollinators, it is critical to develop integrative frameworks that bridge cutting-edge ecological science, policy innovation, and practical conservation measures.

This Research Topic aims to bring together cutting-edge science, policy perspectives, and applied practices to advance understanding of global threats to insect pollinators and to promote evidence-based solutions for their conservation. By fostering dialogue between scientists, policymakers, and practitioners, the collection aims to advance evidence-based strategies for mitigating pollinator declines and to ensure the long-term resilience of ecosystems and agricultural systems worldwide.

This Research Topic welcomes contributions that examine, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Threats facing insect pollinators at local, regional, and global scales

• Strategies for effective conservation of pollinators

• Drivers of decline, such as habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, invasive species, pathogens, and land-use intensification

• Ecological and socio-economic impacts of declining species

• Studies that integrate ecological science with policy development, agroecological practices, or community-based conservation are especially relevant

• Cross-disciplinary approaches that unite ecological research with effective policy responses and practical conservation strategies

By assembling diverse scientific perspectives and practical experiences, this collection aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of global pollinator threats and to promote innovative, evidence-based approaches for safeguarding pollinator diversity and resilience.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Insect pollinators, Global threats, Biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem services, Pollinator decline

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.