This Friday (May 20) is World Bee Day, when we get to celebrate the hard-working little pollinators to whom we owe so much.
Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities. Yet three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits, or seeds for use as human food depend on them.
Pollination is 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 20 May as World Bee Day.
The goal of the day 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. Here are some steps we can take, as individuals at home, to protect and encourage bees:
– plant a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year;
– buy raw honey from local farmers;
– buy products from sustainable agricultural practices;
– avoid pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our gardens;
– protect wild bee colonies when possible;
– sponsor a hive;
– make a bee water fountain by leaving a water bowl outside;
– help sustain forest ecosystems.
One of the most important things we can do is raise awareness around us within our communities, schools and networks. The decline of bees affects us all!
