The United Nations has expressed concern about the sharp decline in the number of bees under the onslaught of numerous pests and environmental pollution, and called for every effort to be made to stop it
Every winter in the United States, 30–35% of bee colonies die out, although usually the cold season cannot survive only 10%. (Photo by Corbis.)
Meanwhile, the matter is indeed taking on a serious turn. The industrialized areas of the northern hemisphere are particularly hard hit, according to a UNEP report. Environmentalists identify about a dozen factors contributing to extinction: pesticides, air pollution, parasites (especially the varroa mite), mismanagement of the authorities towards the village, loss of areas occupied by flowering plants, a decrease in the number of beekeepers in Europe …
It should be understood that out of a hundred agricultural crops that serve as a source of 90% of food products, 70 are pollinated by bees. Without exaggeration, the future of humanity depends on these insects.
In general, the contribution of bees to the world economy is estimated at € 153 billion ($ 212 billion), which is 9.5% of the total food market. In case of their disappearance, the yield of some types of fruit, nut-bearing, seed crops will decrease by tragic 90%.
In recent years, the number of bee colonies has decreased by 10-30% in Europe, 30% in the United States, 85% in the Middle East. No major casualties were reported in Australia, Africa and South America.
A number of mechanisms of the tendency, which is already four decades old, still remain a mystery. It is difficult to say why the process intensified in the late 1990s. This is probably due to a complex of reasons. Hardly anyone would deny that nature, which has remained unchanged for thousands and millions of years, in recent years has been forced to adapt to changes of an unprecedented scale caused by human activity.