New Topical Collection: IUCN Red List Assessments: Advances in Spatial Metrics, Threat Analysis, and Conservation of Insect Pollinators

Nature Conservation is pleased to announce a new topical collection addressing the accelerating decline of insect pollinators and the urgent need for comprehensive extinction risk assessments.

Wild bees and other insect pollinators are foundational to ecosystem functioning and global food security, yet the majority of the world's 20,000+ bee species remain unassessed - particularly in the Himalayas, high-altitude ecosystems, and much of Asia. Where data exist, the trends are alarming: the 2025-2026 European Red List of Bees finds approximately 172 species now threatened (around 10% of those assessed), with more than one in five bumblebees and cellophane bees at risk of extinction.

This collection welcomes new and updated IUCN Red List assessments, geospatial and predictive modeling applications, threat analyses, and actionable conservation strategies, with particular interest in Data Deficient taxa and understudied regions. It supports the work of the IUCN Wild Bee Specialist Group and aims to translate assessment science into effective conservation policy.

Lead editor Muzafar Riyaz expresses his hopes and expectations for the collection: "Insect pollinators in high-altitude regions, particularly the Himalayas, are facing an escalating crisis. Our core objective for this collection is to bridge the gap between rigorous ecological science and real-world conservation policy. By leveraging modern tools such as advanced spatial mapping, predictive modeling, and machine learning, we can significantly accelerate the pace of IUCN Red List assessments. We are especially keen to see studies addressing how compounding threats like climate change and habitat loss interact to drive pollinator declines, and how we can implement smarter monitoring frameworks. Ultimately, it is high time we prioritize IUCN Red List assessments for arthropods, with a strict emphasis on insect pollinators. Humanity’s own survival deeply depends on them."

Submissions are open. See more about the collection at: https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/topical_collection/348/