KB, Passionate About Bees, Starts Rooftop Beekeeping and Publishes Report

Family members of KB Financial Group employees are participating in a beekeeping experience at the 'K-Bee' urban apiary installed on the rooftop of the KB Kookmin Bank headquarters. Photo by KB Financial Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] KB Financial Group has recently embarked on restoring the bee ecosystem, whose population is rapidly declining due to climate change and other factors.

On the 22nd, KB Financial Group's Management Research Institute published a report titled "Colony Collapse Disorder, Responding to the Warning of Bees." This report is part of KB Financial's initiative called the "K-Bee Project" aimed at saving bees.

The report focused on the colony collapse disorder phenomenon, where out of approximately 2.2 million beehives nationwide in the first quarter of this year, about 390,000 hives (17.2%) were damaged, resulting in the collective disappearance of approximately 7.8 billion bees.

Colony collapse disorder refers to the sudden disappearance of bee colonies that live in groups. According to a government joint investigation, the causes of this bee disappearance incident are understood to be a combination of pests such as Varroa mites, excessive use of pesticides, damage caused by hornets, and abnormal weather conditions, but no clear explanation has been provided.

Scientists and international organizations have warned that the disappearance of bees, which have a significant impact on ecosystems, would pose a great threat to humanity. Professor Samuel Myers' team at Harvard University published research showing that without bees, plants would fail to bear fruit, leading to food shortages and potentially causing 1.42 million deaths annually. The UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has estimated the economic value of bees to be up to 740 trillion won.

The report emphasized that the most fundamental way to prevent colony collapse disorder is to create healthy habitats for bees, and for this, government and corporate efforts are necessary to plant nectar plants and establish nectar forests.

In addition to publishing the report, KB Financial has previously announced various plans to restore the bee ecosystem. Together with the tree-planting social enterprise "Tree Planet," they will create nectar forests for bees in the Hongcheon area of Gangwon Province. Over the next four years, they plan to plant 100,000 nectar trees, including Hovenia dulcis and Styrax japonicus. They will also promote nectar forest projects in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, which is facing a severe crisis due to this year's wildfire damage as well as bee disappearance damage.

On the 24th, a "K-Bee Zone" will be opened on the metaverse platform Roblox, where a "Get My Tree" event will be held. Additionally, about 10,000 nectar plant kits, including sunflowers, will be distributed through KB Kookmin Bank branches. In April, KB Financial, together with the urban beekeeping social enterprise "Urban Bees," established the "K-Bee" urban apiary on the rooftop of KB Kookmin Bank's headquarters, where approximately 120,000 bees can reside.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.