The fire season is killing the bees: “In 20 days there will be no beehives in Attica”

The time to start it counts backwards fire season with the state apparatus, the Fire Service, the forest offices, the Regions, the Municipalities, the volunteers and also the citizens being in the red in order to deal with the difficult period that is coming. At the same time, they experience moments of anxiety livestock breeders, beekeepers, resin producers, loggers and many more professionals who depend on the forest and countryside.

The new fire protection law provides stiff fines and non-parole prison sentences even for the citizens who will cause a fire even through negligence, while from the previous day there will be information about blockades. The updated and strict measures directly affect the beekeepers who emit a danger signal for their survival but also for the survival of the country’s livestock which is the driving force of agricultural production.

“Beehives will disappear in Attica”

“Currently in Greece there are 30,000 families living from beekeeping. 1/10 of the producers, that is, approximately 3,000 are in Attica, whether they are professionals or amateurs. With the strict restrictions that will be imposed from May 1 due to the fire season there will be a big problem. Especially in Attica the bees will disappear”, says to ethnos.gr Nikos Paleokostas, president of the Association of Eastern Attica Beekeepers “Kifinas”.

Earth has 4 years to live without bees

As Nikos Paleokostas emphasizes, beekeepers are under persecution and in recent years have suffered major disasters with a dramatic reduction in livestock, with what this entails for the economy and the balance of ecosystems. After all, as he had said Einsteinif the bees disappear the Earth can only last for 4 years…

“Daniel” and the fires wiped out the bees

THE destruction of approximately 5,000,000 acres of forest in the last 4 years in Greece, among them the destruction of forests in northern Evia, Evros but also Attica and mainly in Parnitha combined with the bad weather “Daniel” which wiped out all the production of Thessaly, have caused the reduction of the number of beekeepers and by extension the reduction of livestock.

Entry to stages 4 and 5 is prohibited

The strict fire protection measures that will apply from May 1, 2024 are another big problem. Among other things, entry into the forest and access to the beehives will be prohibited when the Civil Protection has issued a warning for stage 4 and 5 after a combination of adverse weather conditions (strong winds, high temperatures, low humidity, etc.). Also, in the remaining stages, work is allowed until 12 noon each day at the latest.

“In 15-20 days there will be no beehives in Attica. Due to dry climate and the conditions that will prevail in combination with the strict fire protection measures will force professional and amateur producers either to destroy the beehives or to transfer them to other areas and mainly outside Attica”, emphasizes Nikos Palaiokostas.

Everything is done for the smokehouse

Beekeepers to take care of the bees have to make use of the traditional smokehouse. The use of tobacco for the “handling” of bees has been done since ancient times. Smoke makes bees dizzy. The assessment is that the smoke either paralyzes their nervous system, or prevents the transmission of alarm pheromones and therefore communication between them. Suitable materials for fuel in the smokehouse are pine needles, pine sawdust and cow dung etc. These materials have the property of burning slowly and maintaining their smoke at relatively low temperatures. As for the electronic smoker, it may sound like an ideal solution because there is no fire, but for professionals with a large production, it is not particularly effective as its battery lasts from 30-60 minutes. In rarer cases, producers also use a water sprayer.

“The first to perish in a fire is the beekeeper”

“As a trade unionist and also as a former military man with 25 years of service, I will not caress the ears of any colleague, nor will I speak in trade union terms. All beekeepers are citizens and as citizens we must be responsible and informed. It is not possible to uncontrollably light the smokehouse in the forest when stage 4 and 5 have been given. On the other hand though we must not blame the beekeepers and their smokehouse for all the fires because this is demonstrably not the case. Horizontal measures should also not be taken against beekeepers with exclusions and prosecutions. Many times the news that the beekeepers are responsible for the fires has been spread in the media lightly. The results of the Fire Department’s investigations, which are announced after months, finally show other causes. Know how if the forest catches fire the first to be destroyed is the beekeeper, therefore the beekeeper hurts and cares for the forest. The beekeeper needs to be in the forest to take care of the bees and the bees need to be in the forest to take care of the forest as pollination guarantees sustainability.. But the presence of the beekeepers must be organized and coordinated with all safety measures ».

“We are the protectors of the forest”

Nikos Paleokostas emphasizes that beekeepers are the protectors of the forest and his association will soon take initiatives for its members to join voluntary fire protection groups and in general the Civil Protection mechanism and explained: “Beekeepers should not be a foreign body from the fire protection mechanism. They must join the Civil Protection force. We should all get it safety culture. Let’s all go through seminars and get certifications. We have a lot to learn, but we can also teach a lot.”

All beekeepers members of Civil Protection

“All beekeepers are well-versed in the paths and the hard-to-reach places. They have survival knowledge. They know the laws of the forest well. Our suggestion is that they become part of the fire protection and patrol themselves. This way they will feel part of the social mechanism and will not feel that they are “opposite” and in permanent rejection. A meeting with the Minister of Climate Crisis is pending Vasilis Kikilia where we will put these issues to him.”

Enter GPS

“Another suggestion is positioning GPS in beehives. We await instructions on the matter. In addition to being a matter of safety, many issues will be solved and many answers will be given as to where the bees are, if the hives are safe and a lot of useful information that technology will give us. Above all, all producers, even amateurs, should be part of an association and not operate independently.”

“The welfare of the bee is a common goal”

As the president of the “Kifinas” association emphasizes, the well-being of the bee is everyone’s stake and he explained: “The well-being of the bee must be everyone’s common goal. Bees must have proper nutrition and be safe. This should be the goal of all of us. We want to remain beekeepers and not become beekeepers. If we stop being beekeepers and become beekeepers we will have to give the bees sugar water and that will be disastrous for the well-being of the bee, production and the food chain.”

Source: ethnos.gr