BC, Canada's Bees thriving in the midst of global shortage
Canadian credit union's report says honeybees have a multimillion-dollar impact on provincial economy
Some of British Columbia’s most valuable workers are bucking a global trend and pulling up their bootstraps to help the local economy.
BC honeybees generate close to C$500 million (US$383 million) in economic activity, according to a new report from Vancity credit union. Local bees are also thriving amidst a global shortage with one of the highest annual colony survival rates.
A thriving bee population is good for the economy, according to Mark Winston, author of the report.
“Our fate is entangled with the bees. We depend on honeybees and wild bees to pollinate our crops, almost C$600 billion (US$460 billion) in global annual value, and without bees most of the fruits, berries, vegetables and oilseed crops we depend on simply wouldn’t exist,” said Winston, a professor of Biological Sciences at the province's Simon Fraser University and senior fellow at the school’s Centre for Dialogue
Winston has been studying bees for 40 years. He is the author of Bee Time: Lessons From the Hive, winner of the 2015 Governor Generals Literary Award for Nonfiction. Winston calls bees a bellwether to our survival as a species.
“Bees are declining worldwide, due to heavy global pesticide use, diminished nectar and pollen sources and an increase in bee diseases and pests. This is not a trivial issue, the potential demise of bees does not bode well for our human future.”