19 May 2024
Pollination is a fundamental process that is necessary for the survival of our ecosystems. It plays a crucial role in food security and agrobiodiversity. Pollinators support vital ecosystem functions for nature, agriculture and human well-being, acting as the invisible cornerstone of functioning and sustainable agrifood systems. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that of the food we eat depends, at least in part, on pollinators and that of the total economic value of agricultural output for human food is dependent on insect pollination. This is no small feat considering that the total value of agriculture’s contribution to human food globally can be measured in trillions of dollars per year.
Unfortunately, pollinators are facing multiple challenges that put their capacity to provide ecosystem services at risk. Human activity, such as intensive monoculture production, poses serious threats to bees and other pollinators by limiting their access to food, such as wildflowers, and to their natural habitats and nesting sites. Additionally, detrimental agricultural practices, such as chemical treatments and overuse or improper use of pesticides, including insecticides, acaricides, fungicides and herbicides, can be very harmful to bees and other pollinators, affecting their cognitive abilities, impairing their performance and even killing them.
In addition to greatly contributing to the production of our food supply, pollinators serve critical functions in safeguarding our ecosystems by enhancing soil health and guaranteeing working fauna-flora interactions. Protecting pollinators and preserving their precious ecosystem functions are paramount to bolstering global food and nutrition security and thus supporting our very existence. Whether it is the Himalayan bumblebee, which pollinates flowers at altitudes above 4,000 m, or the ground-dwelling digger bees in Texas, all pollinators need our support.
By promoting nature-positive and agroecological approaches that protect pollinators and their habitats, such as diversifying agricultural landscapes, minimizing pesticide use, and establishing pollinator-friendly habitats within and around crop production areas, we can actively support bees and other pollinators in playing their critical role in the ecosystem and our food systems.
Over 200,000 animal species function as pollinators, including more than . Pollinators include bumblebees, bats, wasps, butterflies and certain birds and mammals. Domesticated bees are likely the best-known pollinators, but it is important to underline that most pollinator species are wild. Therefore, it is imperative for us to pay particular attention to human activities that continue to encroach on and threaten the natural habitats of pollinators.
Bees and other pollinators are so crucial that, in 2017, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 20 May as , to be celebrated by United Nations agencies, Member States and stakeholders around the globe. However, dedicating just one day each year is insufficient to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators and pollination services. This heterogenous group of animals that pollinates our crops and ensures our food security deserves more recognition and praise.
The future of food security and sustainable food systems depends on the decisions we make today. As temporary inhabitants and custodians of our planet, we must recognize that countless plants and animals, including humans, will continue to inhabit this space long after we are gone. Our young people are the focus of our hopes that, we humans have already learned from our missteps over the past decades and that future generations will be supported in making better choices. These choices should entail the restoration of degraded habitats for pollinators, the practice of pollinator-friendly agriculture, reduction of environmental pollution, and halting or reversing climate change. It is through the co-creation of knowledge and capacity-sharing today that we lay the groundwork to guide the informed actions of tomorrow.
We are betting on the fact that young people have the vigour and vision to continue to advocate for pollinators and provide innovative and technological solutions that will catalyze the efforts initiated by FAO and partners. Such work is aimed at fostering pollinator conservation and sustainable production and consumption, valuing ecosystem services, and promoting ecosystem-friendly agriculture such as agroecology.
A quick scan of social media platforms will reveal that millions of young people are engaging in discussions about apiculture (beekeeping) and pollinators’ protection. Those of us who are old enough to remember when social media was invented in the 1990s never anticipated this level of uptake. In 2024, these platforms serve as powerful tools to amplify the voices of young advocates and activists who are creating a sense of solidarity while spreading the message of bee conservation to their peers and communities. They are also motivating and influencing decision makers to prioritize protecting bees and other pollinators. Young people don’t just talk about pollinators; they also take concrete action by planting pollinator-friendly gardens, setting up “bee hotels”, and participating in citizen science projects to monitor the populations of bees and other pollinators. Such activities not only directly benefit bees but also promote a sense of environmental stewardship among youth.
These actions are not solely altruistic—there is collective interest in bees and other pollinators. Social media influencers can attract annual revenue in the millions of dollars if they can keep their followers engaged, but the business of apiculture itself can also be a lucrative endeavour. There is high demand for natural and organic honey products, creating a tangible financial incentive to invest in sustainable beekeeping and honey production. With proper training and equipment, this can become a genuine business opportunity for young entrepreneurs.
To make the creation of sustainable bee-related businesses a real possibility for young people, we need a dedicated, global, peer-to-peer youth educational programme centred on the importance of bees and other pollinators, and on the ways in which they can be integrated into farming systems and in various landscapes. There are numerous success stories of youth in “bee-businesses”, especially from the global South, that can serve to attract more young people and inform them about the importance of pollinators’ protection and existing business opportunities.
The power and potential of youth as agents of change are reemphasized by the fact that the events of World Bee Day 2024 are centred on the theme “Bee engaged with youth” to highlight the importance of youth involvement, recognizing that they are the future beekeepers and stewards of the environment. The theme focuses on attracting the attention of younger generations and sharing fascinating facts about bees, beekeeping and pollination ecosystem services.
This year’s events will demonstrate that beekeeping—a profession that embraces the use of locally available materials, limited resources and home-grown innovation—can offer employment and income opportunities to those in extreme poverty, landless individuals, women and young people. It will emphasize the need to provide an opportunity for young people to engage with beekeepers and experts in the field, and to learn about the latest technology used in beekeeping.
FAO is mandated to organize World Bee Day to serve as an annual reminder to the world about the importance of bees and other pollinators for food security and biodiversity. It’s the right occasion to increase awareness among all stakeholders, Governments, United Nations system entities, other international and regional organizations, civil society, the private sector and the wider public about the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators.
FAO is also supporting the development of its to promote sustainable agrifood systems through pollinators’ protection, ecosystem services resilience and agroecology mainstreaming. Building on past FAO interventions, this renewed action aims to provide evidence-based entry points for initiatives in support of pollinators’ protection and agroecology enhancement, and will demonstrate how pollinators’ protection can enhance sustainable and resilient agrifood systems and create business opportunities. The Global Action will also contribute to greater knowledge-sharing and scaled-up, pollinator-friendly agricultural practices globally.
As we celebrate World Bee Day, let us remember how crucial it is to prioritize efforts to protect bees and other pollinators. FAO is committed to supporting youth, who have a key role to play in fostering the transformative changes as well as future initiatives and activities needed to save our bees and other pollinators.
Further reading
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), The Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production, S.G. Potts, V. L. Imperatriz-Fonseca and H. T. Ngo, eds. (Bonn, Germany, IPBES Secretariat, 2016). Available at .
Matthew R. Smith and others, “Pollinator Deficits, Food Consumption, and Consequences for Human Health: A Modeling Study”, in Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 130, No. 12 (December 2022). Available at .
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