In a recent debate of the Royal Geographical Society of London and the Earthwatch Institute declared bees as the most important living being on Earth.
The audience heard from five eminent scientists that battled it out for fungi, plankton, primates, bats, and bees.
Undoubtedly, all of these species are invaluable for our earth, but the debate was set up to raise awareness about conservation by asking the audience to vote for only one of the species to get a fictitious cheque for one trillion British pounds to be spent on their conservation.
The audience voted to save the bees.
An initial vote placed Professor David Thomas in the lead with plankton, followed by Dr. George McGavin representing bees. Each was given another five minutes to win over support for their species – and everything changed.
Professor Thomas presented a superb summing up, yet the winner, Dr. McGavin, won the day with his persuasive argument, describing how one quarter of a million species of flowering plants depend on bees, plenty of species are crucial to world agriculture, and without them, we’d lose flowering plants, as well as numerous fruit and vegetables.
Among the primary causes of bee declines are habitat loss and fragmentation, increasing the use of insecticides, and diseases.
Namely, 70 percent of our food supply relies on bees, and the pollination they make allows the reproduction of plants, that are, in turn, food for millions of animals.
Approximately 250,000 species of flowering plants depend on bees for pollination, any of which are vital for world agriculture.
Bees increase the yields of about 90 crops, including apples, blueberries, and cucumbers by up to 30 percent, so in a world without bees, numerous fruits and vegetables would become scarce and prohibitively expensive.
Furthermore, many medicines, both conventional as well as alternative remedies, come from flowering plants.
Also, cotton is another essential product pollinated by the bee.
On the other hand, many birds and small mammals feed off the berries and seeds which rely on bee pollination; therefore, if they die of hunger, all of the animals that follow them in the food chain will also starve and die off.
Sadly, recent studies show a dramatic decline of the bees’ number as almost 90 percent of the bee population has disappeared in the past few years. The leading causes include massive deforestation, lack of flowers, lack of safe places for nests, the uncontrolled use of pesticides and herbicides, and changes in the soil.
People recently began to realize the importance of the bees, and numerous animal rights groups are trying their best for the species’ conservation, and many celebrities have also joined the cause.
Although harmful practices are entrenched in production and agriculture, there are ways in which we could help save the bees, and these are the main guidelines:
- Promote completely natural agricultural alternatives.
- Prohibit, not reduce, the use of toxic pesticides.
- Perform continuous research and monitoring of the health, conservation, and welfare of bees.
Here is how the internet reacted to the importance of bees:
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