United Nations(UN)’s World Bee Day is annually observed across the globe on 20th May to create awareness on the importance of bees and other pollinators and the threats faced by them and highlights their contribution towards sustainable development.
20th May 2021 marks the observance of the 4th World Bee Day.
- The 20th May also marks the birth anniversary of Anton Janša, a native of Slovenia, who pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in the 18th century.
- As a part of the celebration of World Bee Day 2021, The Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations has organised a virtual event under the theme “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/72/211 on 20th December 2017 and proclaimed the 20th May of every year as the World Bee Day.
ii.The day was proposed by the Republic of Slovenia at the FAO regional conference for Europe held in 2016. The proposal was supported by the Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association.
iii.The first World Bee Day was observed on 20th May 2018.
Note:
The UNGA has designated the year 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables(IYFV).
Narendra Singh Tomar launched Honey Testing Laboratory Project:
i.As a part of the World Bee Day and as a part of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar launched a project for the establishment of honey testing laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI), Pusa, New Delhi.
ii.The testing laboratory at IARI is established for quality testing of honey and other products of beekeeping under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission.
Pollinators:
i.The pollinators play a major role in the social-economic and ecological perspective.
climate change, habitat loss, pests and diseases, and intensive agriculture poses a major threat to pollinators.
ii.Around 84% of crops for human consumption depends on pollinators, which also increase the production of fruits, berries and seeds along with the quality of the products.
iii.The pollinators affect around 35% of the world’s crop production and increase the production of around 87 leading food crops across the globe.
International Pollinator Initiative 2018-2030:
The International Pollinator Initiative 2018-2030, the follow-up plan of the first IPI promotes the coordinated action to enable the policies and strategies to support the field level implementation and promote the research and assessment of conservation and sustainable use of pollinators.
