honeybeesTHE PROBLEM THAT IS CAUSING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BEES IS BECOMING A STATE ISSUE.

The increasingly urgent disappearance of bees is causing serious damage to the ecosystem, but it is also reducing global food production. What started out as just another problem on the agenda is becoming a state issue that takes top priority..

Like this, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, has ordered the creation of a work team to find a solution to the rapid decline in bee hives. To do this, will allocate eight million dollars to create a panel that addresses the possibility of creating new habitats so that these small insects can continue working, pollinating and making honey.

Pollination is essential for food security. “Bees allow the production of at least 90 commercial crops in the United States”, Obama assures. “Worldwide, 87 of the 115 main food crops evaluated depend on pollinating animals”, he claimed.

[quote]Measures include planting flowers along highways or even expanding their habitat into conservation areas.[/quote]

The White House last Friday ordered federal agencies to reexamine the effects pesticides can have on bees and other pollinators., that have suffered significant losses in their populations in recent years.

Barack Obama's administration asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to evaluate the effect of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, on the health of bees and other pollinators and to take action if necessary” in the 180 next days.

The decree signed by Obama also calls for the implementation in the next six months of a global strategy among different government agencies to protect pollinators by improving their habitat..

The measures include, for example, planting flowers along highways, retrofitting federal buildings with plants that benefit pollinators, or even the expansion of its habitat to conservation areas.

“In these last decades, there were significant losses among pollinators, including the bees that give honey, indigenous bees, the birds, bats and butterflies”, declared Obama. “This is a serious problem that requires immediate attention”, stressed.

Environmental defenders welcomed the presidential project, although they considered that it was insufficient and gave the European Union as an example, which has already banned three pesticides from the very controversial family of neonicotinoid insecticides currently sold throughout the world, because they affect bees.

The bee population has suffered severe losses in recent years.. Since 15 years, the number of honeycombs decreases throughout the planet, in a phenomenon named “colony collapse syndrome”.The mortality rate of bees is around 30% every year since 2007.

Scientists cannot explain the causes of these deaths, but several investigations allude to a combination of factors such as the presence of parasites, pathogens and exposure to pesticides used on a large scale in agriculture.

The EPA specifies on its website that the United States “does not prohibit or limit the use of neonicotinoid pesticides”. Instead, the agency explains that it will “re-evaluate” the effect of these products for “ensure it meets current health and safety criteria”.

Larissa Walker, del Center for Food Safety, considered that the US government's announcement is “in the right direction” but expressed concern.

“An evaluation and improvement of the habitat will not be enough to save our pollinators. We need decisive action against pesticides”, pointed out.