Hungarian researchers are also participating in a European project aimed at restoring the habitats of pollinators

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According to the announcement sent to MTI by the Hun-Ren Hungarian Research Network on Friday, the aim of the RestPoll project is to permanently restore and connect the habitats of wild pollinators in Europe by providing society with the necessary effective tools. Another goal is to make Europe a global leader in pollinator protection. The four-year project started in October 2023 under the leadership of the University of Freiburg, and the domestic research in the areas of the Bükki National Park Administration is managed by Sándor Piross and Imre Demeter, scientific staff of the HUN-REN Ecological Research Center (HUN-REN ÖK), they write. Restoring thriving habitats and their nesting sites is important to offset the decline in pollinators and the pollination ecosystem services they provide. Their protection is important not only for biological diversity, but also for agricultural yields and food safety, the announcement reads. As they write, RestPoll works with all stakeholders, from farmers to governments, to focus on implementing effective measures and cross-sectoral approaches to restore pollinators and their ecosystem services. The central element of RestPoll is the creation of a network of case study areas and “living labs” (Living Labs) aimed at restoring pollinator habitats, which will be unique centers for joint research, education and knowledge exchange spanning Europe. The managers of the eighteen case study areas of the fourteen European countries have already partially started the rehabilitation of the habitats in cooperation with the researchers of RestPoll – reads the summary.

According to the information, the RestPoll consortium combines the expertise of sixteen countries

The project partners work together as an expert and dedicated team, made up of natural and social scientists, representatives of twenty-three research institutes, an NGO, three companies, three ministries and a national park. The project involves participants in the food supply chain with newly developed participatory methods at different social, ecological and political levels. The first meeting, attended by all project partners, was held on 28-29 November 2023 in Lund, Sweden. At the meeting, the project participants had the opportunity to personally discuss how to achieve the set ambitious goals. The project’s website – www.restpoll.eu – was also launched at the project launch event in Lund, which encourages the exchange of experience, provides important background data and latest news about the project, presents further plans and achieved results. RestPoll is implemented as part of grant agreement No. 101082102 in the Horizon Europe framework program of the European Union, according to the summary of the Hun-Ren Hungarian Research Network on Friday.

MTI