green cities

Cities have a pivotal role to play in mitigating and adapting to climate change and biodiversity loss. The EU mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities aims to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 and ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

The BeeHive Green Cities Hub will provide guidance and opportunities for cities to share their experiences in reporting on and improving biodiversity performance.  

What is a beehive?

A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Though the word beehive is used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive. Nest is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term hive is used to describe an artificial/man-made structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies.

But for honey production, the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) are the main species kept in hives.[1][2]

  • The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae).
  • Beehives serve several purposes. These include the production of honey, pollination of nearby crops, housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment, and trying to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder. In America, hives are commonly transported so bees can pollinate crops elsewhere.[3] Several patents have been issued for beehive designs.

Source: Wikipedia


Nature-based Solutions and climate

Nature-based solutions refer to a suite of actions or policies that harness the power of nature to address some of our most pressing societal challenges, such as threats to water security, rising risk of disasters, or climate change.

These solutions involve protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing ecosystems in ways that increase their resiliency and ability to address those societal challenges, while also safeguarding biodiversity and improving human wellbeing.

Take mangroves, for example. Mangrove forests along coastlines are not only important for sustaining fisheries but also for providing protective natural barriers against erosion and strong storms. They filter water, provide valuable timber and food resources to coastal communities, and can store huge amounts of carbon. Conserving and restoring these ecosystems benefits people in coastal communities by reducing vulnerabilities and increasing their resilience to the effects of climate change.

In short, nature-based solutions can be a win-win for people and nature.

Source: World Wildlife Fund for Nature

3 comments

Paul Mahony
September 18, 2023, 1:17 pm

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Paul Mahony
September 18, 2023, 1:17 pm

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Paul Mahony
September 18, 2023, 1:17 pm

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