Tropical crops, such as coffee and cocoa which depend on pollination, could be at risk from a combination of climate change and agricultural activities, according to a new report published in Science Advances.
A study of 1,507 crop growing sites around the world revealed a substantial decline in the abundance and richness of insect pollinators, due to climate change and changes in land use.
Around 75% of crops depend on some form of pollination and it is thought that tropical crops, such as coffee, cocoa, mango and watermelon are at the greatest risk.
Coffee and chocolate are two of the most popular products in the world and, if we want to continue to enjoy them, we need to protect our very delicate ecosystem.
Crop pollination decline is just one of the many consequences of climate change which we are already facing. If our planet continues to warm we are likely to see more new ways in which we are negatively impacting the future of the planet by man-made global warming.
