The National Chamber of Beekeeping Promotion regretted the incident that occurred on May 8th, 2020, in Esparza, Puntarenas, where more than 2 million bees died from agrochemical poisoning. “The community of Esparza de Puntarenas has witnessed the worst killing of bees that has ever been documented in Costa Rica”, the organization said through an official statement.
“There is no doubt that this fact occurred due to negligence and the result of bad practice in the use of an agrochemical. The Chamber deeply repudiates this type of event”, emphasized Juan Bautista Alvarado, president of that entity.
The Beekeeping Promotion Chamber requested in its pronouncement that actions must be taken against those responsible for the incident. Moreover, it asked the Executive Power for concrete actions so that “the country’s agricultural policies respect our fauna. We demand that the Costa Rican Government regulate and prohibit the use of highly-toxic neonicotinoid and agro-poison products, guaranteeing the protection of pollinators as well as the health of people”, says the statement.
Ecosystem imbalance
Alvarado pointed out that the true impact of this application of insecticides is unknown, since, in addition to the beekeeping farm, the poisoning could affect native bees and other insects in the surrounding areas. Ana Cubero, head of the National Beekeeping Program of the National Animal Health Service (Senasa), agreed on this, assuring that the scope of these events could be much greater.
“This fact produces imbalance in the local ecosystem. Because here it not only killed bees, but all other pollinators -like wasps or drones- and that is the seriousness of this matter”, concluded Cubero.
