Who is the report targeted at?
The report is targeted at all who have an interest in pollination industry in Australia including beekeepers,; those who grow pollination dependent crops and those who service support and regulate these activities.

Background
 - Contribution of pollination
The contribution of pollination to Australia’s agricultural and horticultural industries, argued by some to be critical to production and worth up to $3 billion annually, is not widely appreciated.

Active feral honeybee colonies are widespread in regional areas, ensuring reasonable levels of incidental pollination, and represent a significant component of the total pollination.

The prevalence of feral bees tends to obscure the need for, and optimal management of, managed honeybee colonies in many pollination-dependent industries.

Conversely, the prime focus of the apiary industry in Australia has traditionally been upon the production of honey with the provision of managed pollination services forming a smaller part of the industry. Only a small number of beekeepers are specialised in providing managed pollination services.

 - Future of pollination
The recent advent and rapid growth of large-scale almond production, which has a high dependence upon and demand for managed pollination services, is one of three key emerging factors likely to shape the honey production and pollination industry in this country. The other two key factors are an increased risk of disease incursions and a threats to the continuity of access to floral resources for apiarists.

The impact of the rapidly growing almond industry is likely to be two-fold: ?? precipitating a restructuring of arrangements within the apiary industry to meet the scale and intensity of required pollination services ?? defining a new standard for the quality of management of both elements of the pollination industry.

The threat of an incursion into Australia of a serious pest or disease, particularly Varroa mite, which if it became endemic would:

• decimate the feral honeybee population, eliminating it as an effective contributor to the provision of pollination services
• significantly increase the intensity of management and cost of inputs required to maintain managed honeybee colonies in a condition required to provide pollination services
• contribute to an increase in demand for, and the cost of, managed pollination services.

The balance between the demand for, and supply of, melliferous floral resources are essential to maintain a viable base of honey production for the Australian apiary industry. Access to these resources also enables beekeepers to provide pollination services. Access to native forests, especially the Myrtaceae and Proteacea families, are of particular importance for these purposes.

Methods Used
This study has applied the Australian Standard for Risk Management (AS4306¹) to identify, evaluate and assess the principal risks facing the Australian pollination industry and to guide the development of strategies to address and ameliorate these risks.

Key Findings
- Biosecurity risks to pollination
A prime focus of this study has been the risks associated with an incursion of an exotic pest or disease of significance to the pollination industry and, in particular, the mite Varroa destructor (Varroa mite). Research and consultation undertaken as part of this study suggest that the pollination industry should have a broader view of pests and diseases that threaten the industry than has been anticipated. Four broad areas that require attention include:

1. Pests and diseases of honeybees that would impact upon the cost and availability of supply of pollination services.

2. Pests and diseases of major pollination crops or floral resources that would affect demand for, and provision of, pollination services.

3. Pests and diseases of plants that are vectored by bees which, if they spread in Australia, could result in bee movement restrictions, thus impacting upon the ability of beekeepers to provide pollination services.

4. Other pests and diseases of plants or animals that, if spread to Australia, could give rise to spill-over effects that restrict the movement of bees.

 - Varroa
Whilst as in other countries, it is likely that the potential impact of a Varroa incursion into Australia will take some years to be fully realised, the ultimate effect of an incursion could be more damaging than has been experienced elsewhere.

One reason for such an outcome could be the relatively high prevalence and wide distribution of feral honeybee colonies in Australia and the consequent heavier dependence on the contribution these feral populations make to the pollination of commercial plants in this country.

Given the highly negative impacts of Varroa in other places and the possibility of a worse outcome here, every reasonable effort should be made to:

• ensure its exclusion and early detection; and
• eradicate it if and when detected.

Such efforts should include enhanced surveillance and response preparedness and a review of the national expertise required to assist these efforts.

On the basis of cryptic nature of the pest, the recent experience with Small Hive Beetle (SHB) in Australia and Varroa in the USA and New Zealand, the pollination industry and government response agencies should recognise and prepare for the likelihood that following first detection of Varroa, it will quickly be discovered that the pest is well established and beyond eradication.

Given this prospect, it is essential that interested parties and/or parties with a statutory responsibility for responding to and managing pest and disease incursions, have agreed in advance on the processes and protocols for national coordination and conduct of a containment/management plan. This would help to minimise the spread of the pest and the disruption to the pollination and apiary industries.

 - Responding to an incursion
Plant Health Australia (PHA) and Animal Health Australia (AHA) are organisations established by the Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments and relevant rural industry bodies to coordinate national pest and disease emergency response and management plans. Together PHA and AHA represent all of the parties involved in the pollination industry and all of the parties involved in responding to and managing pests and diseases². It is PHA and AHA that should coordinate the development of the national processes and protocols to coordinate and conduct containment and/or management plans..

A key requirement for any response or management program is the real-time identification and tracing of the national stock of managed honeybee colonies. Current arrangements do not satisfy prevailing best practice standards and should be upgraded.

Implications for relevant stakeholders
With regard to the growth and development of the pollination industry, including the need to increase knowledge and standards of management on either side of the pollination industry, there is a need for a research program to provide the basis for optimising and continuously improving the management of pollination services and a training and education program to devolve the outputs from the research program throughout the industry.

The combination of an expansion of pollination-dependent industries and an incursion of a pest or disease, such as Varroa, would result in a significant increase in the number of:

• managed honeybee colonies required to meet an increased demand for pollination services
• people skilled in the management of bees and pollination to service the additional colonies.

The pollination process and biosecurity management across the pollination supply chain are currently under-represented in biosecurity and quality assurance programs within both the apiary and horticultural industries. Enhancing the status of pollination and its biosecurity management in such programs would contribute to an improvement in the standards of pollination management and would assist in minimising the incidence and impact of pests and diseases on the pollination industry.

With regard to access, availability and allocation of floral resources for the apiary industry, there is an apparent deficiency in basic information at a national level on the:

• current and projected demand for and supply of native floral resources
• impact of a pest or disease, such as Varroa, on this balance.

With this information to hand, there are also needs to:

• understand and address the issues that have led to beekeeper exclusion from some of these floral resources
• ensure that allowed access achieves efficient utilisation of these resources
• develop alternative options including improved ‘artificial’ nutrition regimes.

Although evidence from other counties would appear to suggest that, even in the presence of Varroa, honeybees will remain the dominant agent for large-scale pollination, there is a case for extending research into the usefulness of other agents, particularly native Australian bees for the provision of pollination services, especially in specialist small-scale applications.

Recommended strategies
To manage the risks facing the pollination industry, strategies and actions proposed in this report are summarised below.

Strategy 1: Minimise the risk of incursion of exotic pests and diseases

• Surveillance
• Quarantine
• Biosecurity planning
• Research and development

Strategy 2: Management of incursions of pests and diseases

• Emergency response planning
• National disease containment and management protocol
• Beehive identification and tracing
• Disease response and management training and simulations

Strategy 3: Enhance the capability and performance of the pollination industry

• Optimise efficiency of pollination management in Australia
• Pollination awareness training and education plan
• Coordination and articulation of pollination industry biosecurity and quality assurance plans

Strategy 4: Secure necessary floral resources

• Supply and demand for floral resources
• Access to and allocation of floral resources
• Biosecurity of floral resources

Strategy 5: Additional pollination options

• Native insect pollinators