World Bee Day 2021
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
20/05/2021
World Bee Day 2021
FAO Director-General Dr QU Dongyu,
Opening Remarks
20 May 2021
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
- This is the second year in a row that we are celebrating World Bee Day virtually.
- With this format we can spread this year’s theme ‘Bee Engaged – Build Back Better for Bees’ to an even wider and more diverse global audience.
- To reach the objectives of the 2030 Agenda of eradicating hunger and poverty we need agri-food systems that are MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
- Bees play a major role in that.
- They are important to our food security, nutrition, environment and overall wellbeing.
- As FAO is leading the global celebrations of the 2021 International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, it is particularly important to highlight the role of pollination for fruits and vegetables.
- Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely or in part, on pollination.
- It is estimated that the value of pollination services to global food production is worth up to USD 600 billion annually.
- Bees are not only important for the pollination services they provide, but also for the honey they produce.
- Honey has been used by people for millennia as a delicacy and in traditional medicine.
- Beekeeping can help diversify livelihoods of smallholder farmers by creating an extra income source.
- In many places, bees are culturally significant and have strong linkages to indigenous peoples and local communities.
- Unfortunately, bees and other pollinators are declining in many regions, putting livelihoods and the delivery of pollination services at risk.
- Together with our partners, we are focusing efforts on the conservation of pollinators and bees, recognizing the important contributions they make to sustainable agriculture, people and the planet.
- These partnerships support FAO’s work as a facilitator of the International Pollinator Initiative.
- We also work on bees, beekeeping, and pollinators within our One Health Approach, where we focus on the health of people, animals, and the environment.
- By signing a Memorandum of Understanding with APIMONDIA – the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association – today, we will strengthen our collaboration for sustainable beekeeping.
- During this year’s celebration, we will look at the impact of pollinators on agri-food systems and how we can address the threats bees and pollinators face.
- So, let’s work together – let’s “bee” engaged and build back better for bees!
- I wish you a productive World Bee Day!
- Thank you.