The importance of bees in the future of the ecosystem

On World Bee Day which was on May 20, it is important to recognise the efforts to nurture these important species critical for food and nutrition security, and continuance of ecosystem services for sustainable agriculture and horticulture. Protecting bees and other pollinators would considerably mitigate problems related to the global food supply helping to address hunger in developing countries. FAO is implementing the Global Environment Facility funded Green-Ag project in collaboration with the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare and the ministry of environment, forest and climate change. This project seeks to mainstream biodiversity conservation, climate change, and sustainable land management objectives and practices into Indian agriculture to enhance multiple Global environment benefits in the project landscapes in Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The project supports harmonisation between India’s agricultural and environmental sector priorities and investments so that the achievement of national and GEBs can be fully realised without compromising India’s ability to strengthen rural livelihoods and meet its food and nutrition security requirements.