RES 219 Draft 01 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-`��YOFp•'• il. .s.A° :'=.*�- COUNTY OF HA AI`I W � .."�:'" STATE OF HAWAII RESOLUTION NO. 21.9 19 A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A HAWAII COUNTY APIARY STAKEHOLDER WORKING GROUP. WHEREAS, a global biodiversity report sponsored by the United Nations found that 40 percent of invertebrate pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction, which means one in three bites of food people consume is at risk; and WHEREAS, globally, bee populations are rapidly declining as a result of loss of habitat, disease, parasites. pesticides, and natural disasters, which according to the Bee Informed Partnership, resulted in a 40 percent decline in managed beehives on the continental United States in 2018; and WHEREAS, bees play a critically important role in Hawai`i's agriculture, pollinating 80 percent of the state's food crops, which according to the Hawai`i Apiary Program creates the potential for $212 million in agricultural revenue; and WHEREAS, Hawai`i's tropical weather, climate, and plant diversity, provide ideal conditions for year-round beekeeping and a multitude of unique flavor profiles, whereby the state's bees produce on average per colony, 93 pounds of honey, translating into $3.2 millionin proceeds annually; and WHEREAS, the Ha.wai`i Apiary Program estimates that the state exports $10 million a year in queen bees, supplying about 25 percent of the queen bees in the United States, and 75 percent in Canada, making queen bee breeding a vital contributor to the local economy; and WHEREAS,the importation of bees is not allowed in the State of Hawai`i, a prohibition that is essential to keeping out the aggressive Africanized killer bees, which would seriously impact human life, the environment, and the ability to pollinate food crops if they ever took a foothold in the islands; and