Bees play a crucial role in the survival of humans and many other species through their role in pollination. Here's why bees are essential:
1. Pollination of Food Crops
- Food Production: Bees are responsible for pollinating around 75% of the fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds we consume. Without bees, many of these crops would fail to produce fruit, leading to reduced food availability and higher prices.
- Nutritional Diversity: A variety of crops like apples, berries, almonds, and cucumbers rely on bee pollination. Without bees, our diets would lack diversity and essential nutrients.
2. Biodiversity
- Plant Reproduction: Bees pollinate a wide range of plants, supporting plant diversity and the health of ecosystems. Many wild plants depend on bees to reproduce.
- Ecosystem Health: Diverse plant life supports a wide range of animals, creating balanced and resilient ecosystems.
3. Economic Impact
- Agricultural Economy: Bees contribute significantly to the agricultural economy through the pollination of commercial crops. The decline of bee populations can lead to decreased crop yields and economic losses for farmers.
- Job Creation: The agricultural sector, which relies on bee pollination, provides employment for millions of people worldwide.
4. Wildlife Support
- Food Chains: Bees support food chains by enabling the growth of plants that provide food and habitat for other animals, including birds and mammals.
- Habitat Creation: Plants pollinated by bees provide habitats and food sources for a multitude of wildlife species.
5. Medicinal Plants
- Medicinal Crops: Many plants used in traditional and modern medicine require pollination by bees. The loss of bees could impact the availability of these medicinal resources.
6. Environmental Indicators
- Ecosystem Health: Bees serve as indicators of environmental health. Declining bee populations can signal broader environmental issues, such as pollution and habitat destruction.
Threats to Bees
- Pesticides: Exposure to harmful chemicals can weaken and kill bees.
- Habitat Loss: Urbanization and agricultural expansion reduce the natural habitats available to bees.
- Climate Change: Changes in climate can affect the availability of flowers and nesting sites, disrupting bee life cycles.
- Disease and Parasites: Bees face threats from various diseases and parasites, such as the Varroa mite.
Bees pollinate a third of everything we eat.
- They pollinate most fruit and vegetables, numerous nuts as well as plants such as rapeseed, sunflowers, cocoa beans, coffee, tea and cotton.
- Bees also pollinate crops grown as food for livestock.
- Crop pollination by bees is worth almost R2.5 trillion, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- Bees are indispensable to the planet’s ecosystem.
- We are dead without them.
- The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield interviewed Professor Jill Atkins of the Wits School of Accountancy.
- Atkins talked about the science of bees and environmental accounting.
- Environmental accounting is a subcategory of accounting.
- It incorporates economic and environmental information.
Conclusion
The survival of bees is intrinsically linked to the well-being of humans and the planet. Protecting and conserving bee populations is vital for ensuring food security, maintaining biodiversity, and supporting healthy ecosystems. Efforts such as creating bee-friendly habitats, reducing pesticide use, and supporting sustainable agricultural practices are crucial steps in preserving bee populations.
Scroll down for quotes from the audio below.
THE SCIENCE OF: WHY HUMANS (AND EVERYTHING ELSE) NEED BEES TO SURVIVE
The science of bees (no bees, no humans) and environmental accounting, a subset of accounting incorporating environmental data.
- If people disappeared nature will thrive. If bees disappeared all life on Earth would be at risk. — Professor Jill Atkins
- Bee decline has a huge financial impact. — Professor Jill Atkins
- Colony Collapse Disorder was first noticed around the turn of the century. — Professor Jill Atkins
- Varroa mites are part of the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder. — Frederick Bezuidenhout (North-West University)
- Bees don’t have good immune systems. — Professor Jill Atkins
- There are literally millions of hives being transported around the United States every year. — Professor Jill Atkins
- Industrial bee-keeping seems to contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder. — Professor Jill Atkins
- There are parts of China where all the bees have disappeared. They have to, literally, pollinate everything by hand. — Professor Jill Atkins
- Integrated reporting brings environmental and social issues into the core of business strategy. — Professor Jill Atkins
- If the United States lost its bees it will cost $90 billion to pollinate by hand, if there were enough people to do it, which there aren’t. — Professor Jill Atkins
Bees are a big financial issue and must therefore be part of integrated reporting. — Professor Jill Atkins
Source: capetalk
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