Celebrated on May 20 every year, World Bee Day also marks the birthday of Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping who was born in 1734. The UN has decided 2019 theme to be ‘Save the Bees’. The day acknowledges the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem on which the entire food industry of the nation is dependent. The proposal was to proclaim May 20 as World Bee Day was put forward by Slovenia in December 2017.
Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds are increasingly under threat from human activities. Invasive insects, pesticides, land-use change and mono-cropping practices are reducing available nutrients and pose threats to bee colonies. World Bee Day is a movement to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development of the world.
This year, to strengthen the collaboration among stakeholders, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia are jointly organizing an event at the UN Headquarters to discuss what more could be done to preserve the ecosystem. Bees are key part of conserving biodiversity and also a cornerstone of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Recently, world’s first Honey Bee Edible Vaccine has been discovered by scientists at the University of Helsinki, Finland to protect the Queen bees.
