Learn how sweet life to conserve: Bees are what you should preserve!

 

On May 19, Russia celebrated the World Bee Day 2023 in the Shulgan-Tash historical and cultural complex in the Burzyan District of Bashkiria, in the Southern Urals. On this occasion, the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation together with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan organized a press conference and a scientific symposium.  

“The UN proclaimed 20 May as World Bee Day on the initiative of Slovenia, where Anton Janša, one of the outstanding theorists and practitioners of beekeeping, was from. The work of this devotee formed the basis of modern beekeeping science and practice,” Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, said in his opening remarks. “The FAO Moscow Office is celebrating this day in Russia for the fourth year in a row.”

“This time, a place sacred to the entire beekeeping industry has been chosen for the WBD – the Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve. A unique population of wild Burzyan bees (Apis melifera melifera) has been preserved here, and wild-honey hunting traditions, one of the oldest agriculture crafts known to mankind, are still carefully preserved. This practice is supported by the enthusiasm of honey hunters, the efforts of the authorities of the Republic of Bashkortostan and, in particular, by the administration of the Burzyan District.” 

“Russia has all conditions for the beekeeping industry to pick up. At the moment, its potential is not fully realized,” Oleg Kobiakov continued. “Following the press conference and symposium, we will present all materials revealing, among other things, both the industry's prospects and its constraints.” 

“My special thanks to Ilshat Fazrakhmanov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan, who enthusiastically supported the idea of celebrating World Bee Day in Russia on Bashkir soil and applying for the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) status for Burzyan wild-honey hunting,” Oleg Kobiakov said. “The work on this nomination is almost finished.” 

The choice of the venue of the symposium is absolutely justified, since it is here that the “development centre of wild-honey and loggum-hive beekeeping is located,” Farit Valitov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan highlighted. “We have all the conditions for beekeeping in the Republic. This includes natural resources, human resources, scientific and educational potential. The Bashkir bees are known far beyond their borders.”

“Bashkortostan,” Farit Valitov continued, “is the Russian leader in the production of honey: last year, about 7 000 tonnes of honey were produced. About 12 000 beekeepers are registered in our Ministry of Agriculture. There are more than 300 000 bee colonies in the Republic. Bashkir honey is exported to many European and Asian countries. The Republic pays great attention to the preservation and reproduction of purebred bee populations.”

“My wife is from Bashkiria, her grandfather, Alexander Arkhipov, was a forestry commissioner and was engaged, in particular, in the development of beekeeping,” Vyacheslav Fetisov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Chairman of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature, said by video call. “This shows the connection between times and generations. My wife keeps several hives, and the honey is excellent.”

“Bees, among other advantages of theirs, are an indicator of the state of nature. Bees are not friends to bad ecology,” Vyacheslav Fetisov added, and then said that he intends to improve the legislation on beekeeping at the State Duma's relevant committee. 

“A decree of the President of Russia on chemical and biological safety, which allows us to promote initiatives to protect bees and, more generally, biodiversity, as well as to ensure food quality, has been issued” Sergey Tastan, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Beekeepers and Bee Product Processors, said. 

“Now we are promoting a bill to ban the use of pesticides of the first and second hazard class, replace them with biologics within a seven-kilometres buffer zone from human settlements and use them in forest areas,” Sergey Tastan continued. “This bill has already, as they say, “entered” the State Duma and the government, so the process is underway.”  

“There are many agricultural legacies used by beekeepers worldwide,” Alfir Mannapov, Head of the Department of Aquaculture and Beekeeping at the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy said. “Scientists want us to communicate with the younger generation, sow “what is reasonable, good and eternal.” And, therefore, credit must be given to Anton Janša, who was able to bring his methodical guide (referring to his 1771 Treatise on Swarming Bees) to his listeners.”  

“One third of the world’s food production, according to FAO statistics, depends on bees,” said Vladimir Moshkalo, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Office in the Russian Federation. “Bees and other pollinators are, in fact, improving the state of food security in the world. More than 80% of all food consumed by humans is derived from plants. Thus, the disappearance of pollinators will lead to a potential loss of biodiversity and will endanger the entire Earth’s ecosystem, and therefore the existence of humankind.”

“The honey bee is a common pollinator in the world, where there are over 80 million hives. Bees produce more than one and a half million tonnes of honey annually. At the same time, the existence of bees is threatened by human footprint. Over the past decade, bee populations worldwide have declined due to habitat degradation caused by intensive farming practices, changes in weather and climate patterns, and overuse of pesticides.”

Vladimir Moshkalo concluded his speech with a warning: “If there are no pollinators, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved!”

“It is necessary to enhance control over the transportation of bee material to prevent the spread of bee diseases, avoid their uncontrolled interbreeding and, as a consequence, the loss of their gene pool”, highlighted in her speech Elena Sharoikina, Chairwoman of the Commission for Ecology and Nature Protection of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. “This is one of the largest issues. Unlike the European countries, Russia does not have relevant barriers, and this question has been already repeatedly raisedby the general public and legislators.

As Elena Sharoikina noted, it is no less important to “ensure systemic support for the beekeeping industry and solve the personnel issue, because currently the country faces an acute shortage of specialists in this sphere.”

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Farit Valitov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan, answered a question from the audience which is as follows: what are the three most harmful factors that hinder the progressive and dynamic development of beekeeping. That is what he said:

“In the first place I will put the problem of bee crossbreeding, the uncontrolled importation of invasive biological material from other regions and, as a result, the need to protect and preserve our Burzyan bee (Central Russian, or dark forest bee). The second problem is that the use of pesticides and herbicides to give the farmland a dressing requires debugging the system for alerting beekeepers about the place and time of such dressing of plantations.

The third problem, as Farit Valitov said in the conclusion, is bee diseases that have already manifested themselves within our territory, which puts greater pressure on our veterinary offices. This is also a challenge for beekeepers who should receive ongoing training, be veterinarians and breeders at the same time.” 

“The problem of crossbreeding is very acute,” added Mikhail Kosarev, Director of the Shulgan-Tash State Natural Biosphere Reserve. “It is a fact that 98% of the honey sold in Russia, allegedly obtained from the Burzyan bee, is a counterfeit. This must be combated. We have turned to Rospotrebnadzor, we have received a lot of answers, but the solution has not yet been found. It's just that our beekeepers are not as smart and literate as others. We are still learning. I think we will be able to learn.”

The press conference was followed by a scientific and practical symposium of scientists and practitioners in beekeeping, moderated by Professor Mannapov (we devote a separate material to the symposium).

You can find the speeches of all participants at the press conference in the recording.

 

BACKGROUND

On 20 December 2017, the UN General Assembly established the World Bee Day to draw the attention of the global community to the huge role in supporting human and planet health that bees and other pollinators play. More than 75% of global food crops depend on pollination to give a good harvest.

The theme of the Day this year is “Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly agricultural production”. Today, bees are threatened by a range of negative factors: the impact of climate change, intensive agriculture, pesticide use, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Prominent public figures, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Bashkortostan, republican and local authorities, capital and Ufa universities, the diplomatic corps, as well as a wide beekeeping community, including beekeepers of the Burzyansky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan and other Russian regions, took part in the events held in the Shulgan-Tash historical and cultural complex.

The Shulgan-Tash reserve, chosen as a site for celebrating the Bee Day in Russia, was created in 1958 to preserve the unique population of the Burzyan wild bee (Apis melifera melifera), included in the Red List of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk region.

Bashkir wild honey farming is presented as the first nomination from Russia for the status of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).

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