O world bee day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017 and has since been celebrated annually on May 20, with the aim of raising awareness of their importance to the ecosystem, the vital role they play in maintaining biodiversity and security. food, in addition to the need to always protect them.

Bees are key pollinators, being responsible for fertilizing a wide variety of plants, including many important food crops. It is estimated that around 75% of the world's major agricultural crops depend to some extent on pollination by bees. Without their presence, many plants would have difficulty reproducing and producing fruit, which would directly affect the availability of food for humans and other animals.

Unfortunately, bees and other pollinators face a number of challenges and threats across the planet. Habitat loss, indiscriminate use of pesticides, agricultural monoculture, diseases and parasites are just some of the problems that negatively affect their populations. These threats have led to a worrying decline of species in many parts of the world, such as here in Brazil, a country rich in bee diversity, with more than 400 species cataloged and known, but which also observes this decline for everything here that has ever been. cited, but with an aggravating factor: competition with exotic bee species that were brought here.

Native stingless bees found in Brazil and also in other tropical and subtropical countries, as the name implies, do not have stingers and are usually less aggressive than Apis bees. Still, when threatened they can nibble on humans.

There are many ways to contribute to the protection of bees and other pollinators. This includes creating feeding and shelter areas, responsible use of pesticides and chemicals, supporting sustainable farming practices and raising awareness of the importance of bees to our planet. Furthermore, it is essential to promote scientific research and education to better understand bee needs and develop effective conservation strategies. All of this has been applied to a project that Copaíba is part of and is completing one year this month, together with the celebration of World Bee Day, which is Verde Mel. In a partnership between WWF-Brasil, Sylvamo, Instituto ATÁ, Reenvolver and Copaíba, the meliponary of native bees that started with 3 boxes of Yellow Uruçus, 3 boxes of Mandaçaias and 1 box of Jataí at our headquarters, today has 18 boxes , arising from the multiplications that were made, as the colonies grew and adapted.

Verde Mel also came as part of the support given to several of the rural landowners who restored their lands with the Raízes do Mogi Guaçu program, and received boxes of native stingless bees, which today pollinate their plantations and provide a source of extra income with the products of the bees like honey, propolis, pollen, royal jelly etc.

World Bee Day is a date that deserves to be commemorated and thanked for the small and big ones responsible for our survival and for all the biodiversity on planet Earth. And it reminds us that, By working together and in harmony with the natural environment, we can ensure a sustainable future for bees and the entire ecosystem.