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New chairmanship Promote Pollinators

Jul 25, 2023 | Mexico, the Netherlands

Promote Pollinators acknowledges and thanks The Netherlands for a 6-year period of comprehensive work in charge of the coalition and welcomes Mexico as the new chair.
Thursday May 4, 2023, Louise van Mourik (The Netherlands), Sol Ortiz, Israel Lorenzo, Héctor Ávila (Mexico) and staff members of the coalition’s secretariat Elise de Groot and Martijn Thijssen, held a friendly and open virtual meeting to make official the coalition’s chair transfer from The Netherlands to Mexico. This change was agreed during the meeting of Promote Pollinators that took place during the last Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Current chair: Dr. Louise van Mourik

(Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands)

Dr. Louise van Mourik expressed her contentment with the development of the coalition, highlighting the achievements and progress in pollinator conservation. She also mentioned that The Netherlands will, next to Mexico, play an assisting role in the further development. She also acknowledged México commitment for promoting the objectives of the initiative, by taking this responsibility.

Incoming chair: Dr. Sol Ortiz

(Ministry of Agriculture of Mexico)

Dr. Sol Ortiz is the coordinator of Mexico’s National Soil Strategy for Sustainable Agriculture and Mexico’s National Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators (ENCUSP). She emphasized the invaluable support and assistance of The Netherlands to the coalition and the conservation of pollinators Worldwide. She also commented that Mexico is enthusiastic to share all the experience gained recently with the development and the implementation of the ENCUSP. “There is a clear need to protect pollinators since they have a key role on the conservation of biodiversity and on food security”.
She finally stated that, among other priorities, special attention will be put on encouraging more countries to join the coalition, for example, by having a webpage and outreach materials in other languages besides English.

“Mexico recognizes that The Netherlands and other coalition members have shared knowledge about pollinators and their conservation in many different, creative, and wonderful ways, and we are willing to follow-up on the coalition’s mission and commitments, with the key support of the secretariat and the useful advice from The Netherlands.”

Dr. Sol Ortiz

Ministry of Agriculture of Mexico

The Netherlands was a founding member of the coalition in 2016 and chaired the coalition from its establishment. They published their National Pollinator Strategy in January 2018, which is in the implementation phase.

Mexico has been a coalition member since 2018. Mexico published its National Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators (ENCUSP) in 2020, which is now in the implementation phase.