As one of the planet’s most ecologically critical groups of insects, bees play an irreplaceable role in supporting global ecosystems and sustaining the world’s food supplies. Science has already documented more than 20,700 distinct bee species across the globe – a total that exceeds the combined number of all bird and mammal species on Earth – and new species are added to scientific records every year.
Bee species exhibit extraordinary diversity in their lifestyles: well-known groups including honeybees, bumblebees, and stingless bees live in cooperative social colonies, while over 96% of all bee species lead solitary lives. Beyond their ecological role as primary pollinators of most staple food crops, many bee species also produce valuable goods for human use. More than 600 species of stingless honey bees, for example, thrive in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, nesting in large colonies in tree hollows and producing a nutrient-rich, flavorful honey prized by communities.
Despite their overwhelming importance, the vast majority of bee species remain poorly studied by scientists, and pollinator populations around the world are now declining at an alarming rate. Habitat destruction, intensive industrial agriculture, widespread pollution, invasive species incursion, and the accelerating impacts of climate change are pushing wild pollinators – including bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and moths – into growing jeopardy, with consequences that extend far beyond biodiversity loss to threaten global food security and ecosystem resilience.
Since 2018, the global community has marked May 20 as World Bee Day, a dedicated observance designed to encourage action from governments, organizations, civil society groups, and individual members of the public to protect pollinators, restore their habitats, boost their populations, and support sustainable beekeeping practices. The date was chosen to honor the birth of Anton Janša, a Slovenian pioneer of modern apiculture who came from a multigenerational family of beekeepers in a region where beekeeping has deep cultural and agricultural roots.
The 2026 theme for World Bee Day, “Bee Together for People and the Planet. A partnership that sustains us all,” centers on the longstanding, mutually beneficial relationship between humans and bees, and underscores the urgent need for cross-sector collaboration to address the threats pollinators face. This year’s observance explores how human-bee partnerships have evolved over thousands of years across diverse cultures and landscapes, while elevating innovative strategies that improve bee health and productivity, and support sustainable livelihoods for beekeepers – particularly marginalized groups including women and young people. It also emphasizes how combining traditional ecological knowledge of beekeeping with modern technological innovation can advance sustainable apiculture, and how inclusive cross-stakeholder partnerships can secure a resilient future for both pollinators and human communities, while driving much-needed transformation of global agrifood systems.
In the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), an intergovernmental body established by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to strengthen regional agricultural health, food safety, and cross-border agricultural trade, is using World Bee Day to draw attention to the outsized role pollinators play in supporting Caribbean agriculture, biodiversity, and food security. By raising public awareness of pollinator conservation needs, CAHFSA is backing regional efforts to build safe, resilient, and sustainable agricultural systems across the Caribbean.
At the global level, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is currently consulting with national governments, researchers, and a wide range of stakeholders to develop a new Global Pollinator Platform, an initiative designed to strengthen international cooperation, expand knowledge sharing, and improve policy support for pollinator conservation worldwide.
In Jamaica specifically, beekeeping has emerged as a fast-growing, profitable agricultural sub-sector that delivers multiple benefits to local communities. Beyond their critical role boosting crop yields and supporting national food security as pollinators of fruit and seed crops, bees produce a range of high-value products including honey, royal jelly, pollen, beeswax, propolis, and honeybee venom. For many Jamaicans, beekeeping has become a vital source of income, with honey sales offering particularly strong profit margins.
To protect local bee populations from the global threat of Colony Collapse Disorder and introduced pathogens, Jamaica enforces a strict ban on imported bee products. This policy has successfully shielded domestic bee colonies from outside diseases, but requires local beekeepers to manage their own colony development and wax production independently.
Jamaica’s Apiculture Unit, under the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, continues to lead the expansion of the domestic beekeeping industry, and reports growing public interest in joining the sector. Dozens of new inquiries from prospective beekeepers are received every month, and numerous community groups have applied for formal beekeeping training to enter the industry. As of 2026, Jamaica is home to more than 100,000 managed bee colonies.
Industry leaders emphasize that young Jamaicans have particular opportunities to build successful careers in the growing sector, as global and local demand for honey and other bee products far outpaces current supply. “Jamaica has potential; very, very big potential in beekeeping, because honey is in short supply both locally and internationally,” explained Elton Cawley, First Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Federation of Commercial Apiculturists (JFCA). Formal beekeeping training is currently available to aspiring beekeepers through HEART Trust/NTA’s Ebony Park Academy in Clarendon and the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, giving young people the skills they need to enter the field.
Proponents of pollinator conservation note that young people are uniquely positioned to drive change in the sector, as the future generation of beekeepers and environmental stewards. Young people bring energy, digital literacy, and innovative vision to advance pollinator protection and build more sustainable apiculture practices, and many are already actively engaged in global and local conversations about bee conservation.
As the world marks World Bee Day, the 2026 theme calls on all stakeholders to strengthen the collaborative partnership between humans and bees that sustains both people and the planet. Echoing the words of St Francis de Sales, bees exemplify sustainable harvest: they collect honey from flowers without damaging the plants, leaving them whole and healthy just as they found them – a model of harmonious coexistence that human communities can strive to emulate.