Save the bees! World Bee Day

Source of the picture: FAO

We all depend on the survival of bees

Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.

Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated May 20 as World Bee Day.

The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

We all depend on pollinators and it is, therefore, crucial to monitor their decline and halt the loss of biodiversity.
 

Why May 20?

May 20 coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.
 

Bee engaged!

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has had an undeniable impact on the beekeeping sector affecting the production, the market and as a consequence, the livelihoods of beekeepers.
This year, World Bee Day will therefore focus on bee production and good practices adopted by beekeepers to support their livelihoods and deliver good quality products.

We need to act now

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Bees are under threat. Present species extinction rates are 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal due to human impacts. Close to 35 percent of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, and about 17 percent of vertebrate pollinators, such as bats, face extinction globally.

If this trend continues, nutritious crops, such as fruits, nuts and many vegetable crops will be substituted increasingly by staple crops like rice, corn and potatoes, eventually resulting in an imbalanced diet.

Intensive farming practices, land-use change, mono-cropping, pesticides and higher temperatures associated with climate change all pose problems for bee populations and, by extension, the quality of food we grow.

GoldenBee and Bees Protection

The concept of GoldenBee is from bees' lifestyle. Bees gather and make honey from flowers for survival. In the meantime, they spread pollen for plants to grow. As a result, they could have wider sources to gather honey. It is a sustainable lifestyle and that is why bees can exist 137 million years. This symbiotic relationship with nature is taken as a fine example of sustainable development mode, and bees are, therefore, the best advocate for China’s social responsibility and sustainable development.

We see protecting bees and promoting bees’ protection as our responsibilities.

On March 13, 2020, GoldenBee Consulting and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), with the aim of “assisting beekeepers and protecting bees”, signed a memorandum of cooperation to define the framework for strategic cooperation. Both sides decided to activate supporting actions such as a special donation for “Beehive Fund” and public education to help beekeepers and poverty-stricken families get through the pandemic and protect biodiversity by protecting bees.

On May 7, 2020, we organized an online panel discussion themed on “Protecting Bees, Looking for Bee-Enterprises”, to explore the way to protect bees use the power of business. The event was co-hosted by China Sustainability Tribune, GoldenBee ThinkTank, WBCSD and CBCGDF.

Take action, save the bees!