In 2016, at the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, the Republic of Slovenia proposed World Bee Day to be celebrated on 20 May each year with the support of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association. May 20 is the birthday of Anton Janša, the founder of modern beekeeping and a native of Breznica, a village not far from Žirovnica in Slovenia’s Gorenjska region. In 2017, the UN General Assembly unanimously declared May 20 as World Bee Day.
The UN reports that currently 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.
Pollination is a fundamental process for the survival of our eco systems, however, bees and other pollinators are increasingly under threat from human activities. Additionally, the COVID 19 pandemic is having a damaging effect on the beekeeping sector.
Many cities around the world are now investing in urban beekeeping to help combat declining bee populations and to encourage sustainable economic growth in their local agriculture sector. Beehives located in cities produce healthy and productive bees due to greater biodiversity and less pesticides used than in rural areas.
World Bee Day provides an opportunity for governments, public institutions, business, community organisations and concerned citizens to promote actions that will protect pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.
Bee engaged!
The global World Bee Day ceremony will be held in hybrid format at the FAO headquarters on Friday, 19 May. It provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of adopting pollinator-friendly agricultural production practices to protect bees and other pollinators, while contributing to the resilience, sustainability and efficiency of agrifood systems.
Register here.
Further reading on the use platform:
Ljubljana Bee Path case study