World Bee Day proclamation is the result of good cooperation between the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association as the initiator, the Republic of Slovenia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the extensive European and broader international support of countries and organisations, inter alia, Apimondia (International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations / Mednarodna zveza čebelarskih organizacij). To Slovenia, the annual celebration of the World Bee Day is a most important priority at home and abroad, by stimulating the promotion of significance of bees and wild pollinators, thus calling on general public to raise awareness and strengthen activities for their conservation. By celebrating this year’s World Bee Day, we are endeavouring to disseminate to general public the fact that bees and pollinators are extremely important for the survival of human race on this Planet, and they are endangered in many countries and regions, due to different reasons (climate change in particular).

As pointed out at Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, the initiator of the World Bee Day, the main objective of this day is not only to celebrate, but to raise the awareness of general public of the fact that:

• Bees and other pollinators are extremely important,
• In the recent years, bees are endangered in many areas, and
• What as a community and individuals we need to do in order to conserve the bees and pollinators for the future.

A list of activities to improve the survival of the bees and other pollinators:

• Planting the autochthonous melliferous plants (the list is accessible via the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association (ČZS – Čebelarska zveza Slovenije) website,
• Sowing and planting the melliferous plants for ornamental purposes,
• Maintaining grassland with higher plant diversity,
• Sowing melliferous plants on grassland,
• Mowing blossoming plants after fading,
• Purchasing honey and other apiary products at beekeepers in the proximity,
• Moral support of beekeepers,
• Renouncing an adequate agricultural-land site for temporary or permanent settlement of honeybees,
• Dropping the use of pesticides, which are detrimental to bees, and
• Mulching of blossoming plants in orchards and vineyards prior to pesticide spraying.