- Beekeepers on the Greek island of Evia have been breeding their colonies for generations.
- The region produces 40% of Greece’s honey.
- But a savage fire season has destroyed the beehives and most of the plant life in the area.
On the scorched land, dozens of blackened circles marked all the remains of beehives scattered on the once verdant hillside outside the village of Voutas on the Greek island of Evia.
In 40% of the honey-producing areas in Greece, pine, walnut and fig trees are abundant plants on which bees depend. These hard-working workers, in turn, are the cornerstone of the local ecosystem, pollinating the crops of local farmers.
“This is the complete way of life we lost with the forest,” said the 53-year-old Babis, whose main source of income is his hives.
“What will we find here next year? It’s over. We have gone from heaven to hell.”
The bee colony cultivated for decades, whose skills have been passed down from generation to generation, were wiped out in the wildfire raging brought about by the forces of climate change.
Greece-along with Turkey, Italy, Spain and Algeria-have all been hit by the wildfire season, which Prime Minister Kyriacos Mizotakis described as “the biggest ecological disaster in decades.”
“The climate crisis is a harsh reality. It shows us that forests will become more and more fragile, and the things they provide will become more valuable,” said Dimit, managing director of WWF Greece. Said Dimitris Karavellas.
“The climate crisis is not an excuse for failure, but a wake-up call for change.”
But for Evia’s beekeepers, the change is too late.
“We lost our hives because we ran to save our village,” said Adonis Vakos, who pulled his hat over his head while investigating the burnt forest ruins in front of him.
Vacos, 49, the last representative of a family of beekeepers, said that only 50 of the 130 hives he owned were left nine days before the fire swept across the island.
“I have been cultivating honey since I was 10 years old. We never have time to bring it back to life, and we will die before it grows back. If it comes back, it will take 50 years.”
So far, northern Evia has been one of the most popular areas for beekeepers in Greece.
Its microclimate, biodiversity and pine forests touched by the summer breeze of Etesia provide ideal conditions for the production of high-quality honey.
“40% of the country’s honey production takes place here,” said Stathis Albanis, chairman of the local beekeepers cooperative.
Local beekeeper Panagiotis Gianakaras said that throughout the summer until November, thousands of Greek beekeepers brought their hives to the north of Evia.
He managed to save his 80 beehives. The colorful wooden boxes sheltering thousands of bees are now parked in the shade of olive trees.
But even for those lucky enough to save the hive, the destruction of the forest — and the source of food for the bees — means they have to look elsewhere.
“I will bring my beehive to Pelion tomorrow,” said Adonis Angelo, a mountainous peninsula north of Evia, who used a tractor to remove flammable materials and set fire protection around them. Take, managed to save his 150 beehives.
“I rented a piece of land near Volos, which will incur new costs, but I have no choice,” Angelo said.
“Fortunately I saved them. But how do bees feed themselves? Use charcoal?”
Climate scientists say that from rising sea levels to flash floods, to unpredictable and more intense heat waves, climate change will change the nature of agriculture and force farmers to abandon once fertile land.
“We may also have to relocate and put our hives in other areas,” Vakos said.
“Look, there is no green around us. Bees cannot survive without green plants.”
