World Bee Day Celebration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

FAO-Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Al-Baha Beekeeper’s Association celebrated the 2022 World Bee Day event in line with this year's World Bee Day theme “Bee engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems” with emphasis to the local context to create extensive public awareness on the great value of bees and beekeeping and the importance of a wide variety of other pollinators. The event was opened by a welcoming address from Dr. Suleiman Al-Khatib Assistance Undersecretary of Agriculture of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MoEWA) and followed by an opening remark from Dr. Kakoli Ghosh, Chief Technical Advisor of the FAO-Saudi Arabia. The speakers accentuated the greatest role of bees in serving as a source and diversification of income to a large number of rural smallholders, sustainable rural development, contribution to food security, conserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through their pollination services. The speakers underscored that the bees, pollinators, and many other insects are threatened by climate changes, indiscriminate application of agrochemicals and pesticides, environmental pollution and human interferences that contributed to the degradation of bee forage landscapes and their natural habitats and the associated decline of the pollinators. They call for collaborative global action and favorable policies to protect pollinators through promoting biological pest controls, protecting the natural habitats of pollinators, and practicing sustainable agricultural practices.  

Moreover, marking the Saudi, 2022 World Bee Day, the event displayed pertinent messages and posters and experts and practitioners from the MoEWA, FAO-Saudi Arabia, Natural Resource Management, universities and Beekeeper’s Cooperative, presented their ongoing endeavors and plans toward extensive planting of bee forages, integrating beekeeping with natural resource management activities, sustainable natural resource conservations and protecting of pollinators and their natural habitats. The event, besides being attended by a large number of participants, was broadcasted live on both mainstream and social media to reach the public at large.