On March 10, the “Guide to Important Plants for Bees in Costa Rica” was presented. It is a resource that seeks to mitigate the decline of these pollinators by promoting friendly spaces, such as the use of plant species for their food and survival.
The activity took place in the Great Hall of the Daniel Oduber Auditorium of the State Distance Education University (UNED). Various authorities, academics, the beekeeping community, and the general public participated.
Collaboration as Bees
The document is the result of a collaboration between the School of Exact and Natural Sciences (ECEN) at UNED, the UNED Ecological Restoration Student Network (RERE), the Bee Project, and the Transition to an Urban Green Economy (TEVU) project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and executed by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS).
Miguel Méndez González, representative of the TEVU project, emphasized that the decline in bee populations is a global problem that already affects biodiversity and food production.
With this guide, we seek to raise awareness and offer practical tools so that communities, producers, and municipalities can actively contribute to their protection. The restoration of ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure is essential in this process.
The guide not only lists the essential plants for bee nutrition, but also explains their ecological function, the impact of pollination on food production and ecosystem balance, as well as practical recommendations for communities, institutions, and agricultural producers to implement conservation strategies.
For her part, Mildred Acuña Sossa, Vice-Rector for Teaching at UNED, highlighted the role of academia in generating sustainable solutions under the banner of contributing applied knowledge to the country’s environmental challenges.
This document not only offers validated scientific information but also promotes concrete actions to improve bee habitats and strengthen their resilience to threats such as deforestation and the use of agrochemicals.
Strategies to Protect Bees
The content of the guide has been validated by experts from various sectors, including academia, research centers, municipalities, and environmental organizations. The main strategies proposed to reduce the vulnerability of bees in Costa Rica include:
Identification of key sites with a high presence of bees to implement conservation strategies.
Promotion of friendly gardens and urban spaces with plants that promote bee feeding and shelter.
Strengthening alliances between institutions, academia, and the community to promote research, social outreach projects, and the promotion of bio-inputs.
Training for producers and communities on the role of bees in food production and the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices.
Reducing the impact of agrochemicals and adapting to climate change through ecological management strategies and habitat restoration.
Threat with Local Impact
The problem of bee decline is not unique to Costa Rica. The progressive disappearance of these pollinators has been documented worldwide in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, with countries such as France, Germany, Spain, and the United States recording significant losses in their bee populations.
The main causes include:
Habitat loss due to unplanned urban expansion and deforestation.
Intensive use of agrochemicals.
Spread of diseases that affect hives.
Lack of research and knowledge about native bee populations in different ecosystems.
The “Guide to Plants of Importance for Bees in Costa Rica” seeks to counteract these effects by providing access to scientific information and tools that allow different sectors to become involved in their protection.
