World Bee Day celebration in New York recognizes vital functions of bees at crossroads for food security and biodiversity

The United Nations celebrated the second observance of the World Bee Day by calling attention to the threats that bees face from the combined effects of climate change, intensive agriculture, biodiversity loss and pollution, urging collaborative action to protect their survival.

Jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of Slovenia and FAO, the observance sought to raise awareness of the importance of bees and to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders to protect the survival of bees and other pollinators.

The event consisted of high-level opening remarks and video messages, a showcase of the World Bee Day stamps, the screening of an informational video, and presentations by beekeepers.

“We can see bees and other pollinators not only as an environmental element, but also from an economic point of view, where crops – in particular for small farmers and family farms, especially in developing countries – depend to large extent on pollinators,” said Darja Bavdaz Kuret, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations, in her welcoming remarks.

Slovenia, with support from FAO, was instrumental in establishing World Bee Day through a UN General Assembly resolution adopted by consensus in December 2017.

“As states, we must ensure that the global biodiversity framework to be adopted in Beijing next year really does put us on the path to “living in harmony with nature”. As individuals, we can take action in our daily lives, from setting up a nesting box to buying honey from local beekeepers,” said María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly.

“Beekeeping, with its manifold products ranging from honey and propolis to bee venom, provides an important source of income, especially for people in rural areas. And that really is the key for us ending poverty and hunger,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in her keynote speech.

The high-level video messages recorded for the events echoed the importance of bees for food security and biodiversity and the need for urgent action to protect them.

“The proclamation of 20 May as World Bee Day is something of a fairy tale, especially for Slovenians. A tale that contains a long and glorious tradition of bees, every single one of which is in some way a princess. A story of greatness and anxiety, danger, concern for their fate, and brave heores with bold ideas to save them,” said Borut Pahor, President of Slovenia.

“I am sure that great attention given to [World Bee Day] will help preserve biodiversity, promote food security, and foster caring relationships among people, because all beekeepers know a simple truth – hard work brings great rewards,” said Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania.

FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva urged every single person to make pollinator-friendly choices. "Even growing flowers at home to feed bees contributes to this effort," he said.

The UN Postal Administration celebrated the occasion by unveiling at the event the World Bee Day stamp sheets showcasing bees and flowers. The stamps feature three prominent bee species: Cadeguala (diphaglossine bees), Bombus (bumblebee) and Melissodes (long-horned bees).

Delivering the closing remarks, Carla Mucavi, Director of FAO Liaison Office in New York, noted that World Bee Day is a significant occasion to call upon the importance of protecting biodiversity and bees’ survival by truly comprehending the reality of what we are doing to the natural world and how to avert damages to our ecosystems.

The event concluded with a visit to beehives and a newly-installed World Bee Day plaque located on the United Nations North Lawn.

More than 75 per cent of the world's food crops rely to some extent on pollination for yield and quality. The absence of bees and other pollinators would wipe out coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa, to name just a few of the crops that rely on pollination.