Bulgaria: The Union of Bulgarian Beekeepers has organized in the course of two weeks protests in different towns
The Union of Bulgarian Beekeepers has organized in the course of two weeks protests in different towns – Shumen, Varna, Silistra, Razgrad, Targovishte, demanding a ban to be imposed on the usage of Neonicotinoid pesticides that cause the extinction of bees. The campaign ends up with a national protest in Sofia today – April 22, Earth Day. The importance of bees for pollination is doubtless – hence, for the survival of mankind. However, what are the Bulgarian beekeepers exactly struggling for?
The protests are due to the fact that the Bulgarian representative with the expert committee with the Agriculture Directorate of the EC abstained to vote on the proposal for a ban of Neonicotinoid pesticides in the EU, explains Mrs. Daniela Chelebieva, a board member of the Union of Bulgarian Beekeepers. Now on April 26 or May 2 the demand of such a ban is to be re-voted. We hope that the Bulgarian representative will voice another stance this time, after our campaign and those harmful pesticides will be banned. In the opposite case the Union insists a ban of that kind to be implemented for Bulgaria only no later than the autumn of 2013, since the syndrome of increased death rate and extinction of bees has occurred as of 2011.
A research, held with the On Bees and Men campaign in 2011 showed that pesticide poisoning was the reason for the death of 63 percent of the bees found dead then. Some 200,000 bees died in Bulgaria in 2012 only, or 20 percent of the overall capacity for the breeding of bees in Bulgaria.
The problem with Neonicotinoid pesticides that the seeds of cole, sunflower, corn and cotton are treated with is the following: the nectar and pollen of such plants serve as a slowly acting poison for bees. According to scientists those pesticides cause reducing of their immunity, make them susceptible and shorten their life. This has all been practically proven.
In our opinion they change the physiology of a bee, Mrs. Chelebieva explains. Bee queens usually live up to 7 years and now they don't even make it for one. At the same time winter bees that have a life of 6 months barely live through 4. That is why many beekeepers, who open the hives now in April, find those empty, especially where coleseed can be spotted around. Bee problems in Bulgaria occurred 3 -4 years ago, when the planting of cole kicked off on a large scale for the production of biodiesel. Our union collects data from across Bulgaria and it shows that in 2010 death toll among bees was some 10 percent, while in 2011 it went up to 30 percent and the level was pretty much the same in 2012. If measures are not taken within a year, beehives will simply disappear, Daniela Chelebieva alarms.
About a dozen Bulgarian companies import seeds, treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides. However, farmers themselves are rarely aware of what they buy due to the lack of information on the issue. High death toll among bees has been a global problem over the past 10 years, as there are claims that nearly half of the population of those essential insects has died over this period. This is an alarming situation that concerns Europe too, hence the proposal of the EC for at least two-year-long ban on the usage of Neonicotinoid pesticides. The European Food Safety Authority presented not so long ago quite a negative report on the consequences from the usage of these pesticides. France, Itlay, Spain and others have already implemented a measure of that kind and the bee population has begun its recovery.
We received the support of the European Professional Beekeepers Association in Brussels and I hope that beekeepers from all member-states will unite for the cause, along with other NGOs, in order for the entire society to protect bees and nature.
The protest of beekeepers is supported by the Bulgarian Association Bioproducts and the Green party. Bulgaria is one of the big honey producers in Europe, as its product is of extremely high quality and is often used for improving the qualities of foreign brands. The share of organic honey produced here is constantly growing too, as this country is third in Europe in the number of organically certified beehives.
English version: Zhivko Stanchev
Live translation:
Submit to
Design by 