Bees
The bee is the basis of life on Earth, and when there are no bees, there is no food for humans either. If the bees become extinct, mankind will only survive four more years!
The authorship of this sentence is attributed to Albert Einstein but we will focus not on the scientist but on the small winged insects - bees - on which life on Earth depends.
Did you know that 78% of the vegetables and fruits in our climate will not be produced if they are not pollinated by insects?
According to the estimation there are about 94 million bee colonies in the world. There are about 20 million bee colonies in Europe and 10% of all bee colonies die every year.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the European Commission, estimate in the Red Book that in Europe, nearly one bee species in ten is threatened with extinction.
Greenpeace warns that 105 bees die every second!
The greatest threats to the state of the bee population in Europe and the world are caused by human activity and climate change.
- excessive chemicalisation of the environment and agriculture,
- climate change and extreme weather events,
- habitat degradation and loss,
- invasive alien species that threaten bees,
- and finally - bee diseases!
All this means that there is no more time for inaction! If we do not take immediate and concerted action we will face a major global health and financial crisis.