World Bee Day – History, Significance, FAQ, Objectives
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World Bee Day: General Knowledge
The United Nations instituted World Bee Day to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators, their problems, and their contribution to long-term development. It aims to increase efforts to safeguard bees and other pollinators, which will go a long way toward addressing global food security challenges and relieving hunger in developing countries.
World Bee Day is a chance to emphasise the importance of beekeeping, bees, and other pollinators in maintaining food security, increasing nutrition, combating hunger, and delivering critical ecosystem services to agriculture.
History of World Bee Day
- The Slovenian Beekeepers Association started a campaign in 2014, asking to proclaim May as World Bee Day.
- The Government of Slovenia enthusiastically embraced the idea and worked relentlessly to make it a reality.
- In September 2015, Apimondia, one of the largest beekeeping organisations, accepted the proposal.
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food of Slovenia toured the world with the Bee World pavilion, actively advertising and informing the public about the mission and other associated activities.
- In addition, the Ministry conducted several expert seminars and bilateral meetings with representatives from other countries and international organisations.
- After more than three years of planning, on the 20th of December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution recognising the 20th of May as World Bee Day.
- 115 countries backed the initiative, including great powers like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Russia, the United States, and all EU member states.
Significance of World Bee Day
Unfortunately, pollination services see a dangerous decline in some locations, enhancing the importance of International Bee Day.
Pollinator population losses will influence the production and costs of vitamin-rich crops like fruits and vegetables, resulting in increasingly imbalanced diets and health issues like malnutrition and non-communicable diseases.
Enhancing horticultural crop yields is critical for maintaining the health, nutrition, food, and income security of smallholder farmers. Hence, World Bee Day focuses not only on production but also on augmenting human and social security.
As the economic value of honey rises, bees are becoming a key source of income, food security, and a means of livelihood for many small-scale producers and forest inhabitants in many developing countries.
World Bee Day, through conserving bees, aims to abolish poverty and hunger by ensuring increased yields and greater agricultural output.
Q. What is the importance of World Bee Day?
Every year on the 20th of May, we observe World Bee Day highlight the importance of bees and other pollinators in maintaining human and environmental health.
Q. How does celebrating World Bee Day contribute to zero hunger?
Bees are essential to feeding the rapidly growing world population sustainably. Therefore, World Bee day recognises the importance of pollinators like bees and other insects to survive about three-quarters of the global crop species.