‘World Bee Day’ celebrated across the Globe

World pays tributes to 'humble pollinator', the Honey Bee producing 1.6 m tons of honey annually

By NewsOnRadar Bureau Last updated Jul 16, 2024

New Delhi: The humble pollinator, which has been serving the mother earth in more ways than one for the past 130 million years by ensuring food security and maintaining ecological balance, is finally getting recognition for its dues, as the globe comes together to pay homage to the noble insect on world Bee Day. May 20, the birth anniversary of Slovenian beekeeper Anton Jana, was chosen as the date to observe World Bee Day, as Jana pioneered modern beekeeping. Jana was born in 1734, into a family that had a long tradition in beekeeping and he served as the first beekeeping teacher at the Viennese imperial court. The theme of this year’s World Bee Day is ‘Bee Engaged: Celebrating the Diversity of Bees and Beekeeping Systems.’ Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the event will be observed virtually this year, available in several languages, including Spanish, Arabic, English, French, Chinese, and Russian. According to the official website, the event featuring bee and pollinator experts and practitioners from across the world will open with a video message by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. The event will raise awareness of the importance of the wide variety of bees and sustainable beekeeping systems, the threats and challenges they face, and their contribution to livelihoods and food systems. At the 2016 FAO Regional Conference for Europe, the Republic of Slovenia proposed World Bee Day to be celebrated on May 20th each year, with the support of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association. The proposal for World Bee Day was submitted for consideration at the 40th Session of the FAO Conference in 2017. Later, the UN General Assembly unanimously proclaimed May 20 as World Bee Day, and the first World Bee Day was observed across the world on May 20, 2018. As the landmark 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) notes, “Sacred passages about bees in all the worlds’ major religions highlight their significance to human societies over millennia.”

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Bee-keeping also provides an important source of income for many rural livelihoods. According to IPBES, the western honey bee is the most widespread managed pollinator globally, and more than 80 million hives produce an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of honey annually. Bees, who are among the most hard-working creatures on the planet, have benefited humans, animals, plants and the environment for more than 130 million years. By carrying pollen from one flower to another, bees and other pollinators enable not only the production of fruits, nuts and seeds, but also introduce variety and better quality, contributing to food security and nutrition for everyone on the planet. As per the FAO, “Bees are part of the biodiversity on which we all depend for our survival. They provide high-quality food – honey, royal jelly and pollen – and other products such as beeswax, propolis and honey bee venom. Pollinators such as bees, birds and bats increase the output of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide, plus many plant-derived medicines,” it added. Three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators. “By observing World Bee Day each year, we can raise awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, and of the many challenges they face today.” said FAO. The agency said that this day has been celebrated since 2018, thanks to the efforts of the government of Slovenia, with the support of Apimondia, that led the UN General Assembly to declare May 20 as World Bee Day. Today, bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining due to climate change and pollution. This day provides an opportunity for all of us, whether we work for governments, organizations, or civil society or are concerned citizens, to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping, it added. (UNI)