Bee populations are declining around the world at an alarming rate.
Honeybee colonies can still be replaced as commercial bee farms are available around the globe. But the worst impacted are native (wild) bees and their various populations and sub populations across the planet. In case of several native species around the globe; between 95-97% of their populations have crashed due to various natural abs anthropogenic factors mentioned above. Several countries around the planet have not done any comprehensive entomological and bio geographical surveys of population status of their indigenous native bee species over several decades.
Although on paper many such native bee species are technically not extinct; but, they could be seriously on the verge of extinction. We need to establish numerous Pollinator Sanctuaries to help the bees by extending and expanding their foraging period to supply the necessary nutrients as well for building up their immunity levels to help them thrive. The plants making up the Pollinator Sanctuary is selected in a manner that they overlap with their flowering periods to create a long and continuous supply of pollens and nectar for the local honeybees and the native bees.
Not just bees; but other pollinator insects such as moths and butterflies, beetles, wasps, flies are also showing decline due to over application of toxic pesticides beyond their threshold levels. This has been identified by scientists and researchers around the planet as a global insect apocalypse. The loss of pollinator insects will have a drastic impact in the long run on our agriculture (crop production), apiculture (honey and bee wax production) and forestry (disturbing natural homeostasis of various ecosystems). We need to remember that ecology and economy walks hand in hand. Hence, distortion of the ecosystems will certainly negatively impact global employment patterns in the agriculture, apiculture and sylviculture (forestry) industries.
Such imbalance can directly as well as indirectly impact complex yet intricate networks of food chains and food webs. Finally this can disorient global food production and can have serious implications for global food security. Such anthropogenically induced environmental destruction by rapid elimination of important pollinators from our ecosystem can induce famine and draught in both developing and under developed countries as well as developed industrialized nations in both hemispheres, North and South.
Hence it is important for global leaders, scientists, researchers, lawmakers, lawyers, educators, physicians, agrologists, academics, intellectuals, students as well as local government and non-government organizations to work together on a common platform. Without a dedicated effort focused on food security and biodiversity conservation with long term, sustainable, green environment-friendly approaches and strategies; both our economy and ecology are highly vulnerable and need to operate together in a comprehensive, cooperative and collaborative effort to protect nature and environment.