Difference between revisions of "Team:UPMC-Paris/Integrated Practices"

Line 6: Line 6:
  
 
<h2>The Interview</h2>
 
<h2>The Interview</h2>
<h3></h3>
+
<h3>Pesticids : the black sheep</h3>
 
<p>Right after we decided to work on bees dramatic disparition, and to focus on pesticids, our first move was to try to determine if yes or no the project was realistic and had a chance to help beekeepers of the world. As we were not fully aware of bees conditions and that we wanted to get informations, we decided to contact people that would be aware of the the problem. That's how we get into contact with Mr. Phillipe Lecompte, president of the bees biodiversity network. The informations we get during our encounter was of critical importance and raised questions about the real causes of bees disparition. The video below, will change was you were thinking was the common truth about bees and beekeeping.
 
<p>Right after we decided to work on bees dramatic disparition, and to focus on pesticids, our first move was to try to determine if yes or no the project was realistic and had a chance to help beekeepers of the world. As we were not fully aware of bees conditions and that we wanted to get informations, we decided to contact people that would be aware of the the problem. That's how we get into contact with Mr. Phillipe Lecompte, president of the bees biodiversity network. The informations we get during our encounter was of critical importance and raised questions about the real causes of bees disparition. The video below, will change was you were thinking was the common truth about bees and beekeeping.
  
Line 26: Line 26:
  
  
<h3></h3>
+
<h3>A sociological problem</h3>
In the second part of the video, we tried to understand
+
<p>In the second part of the video, we engaged the discussion toward a more sociological topic. Indeed how is it possible to have such an important majority of beekeepers that are ignoring the fact that their hives may be dying not because of pesticids but rather because of poor conditions of life, leading to the contamination of bees populations by pathogens.
 +
"One should not mix-up a technical and scientific approach and a political one" say Mr. Lecompte in our interview. The political power (at least in France) would be in the hand of amateurish beekeepers because of their number 3 times higher than that of professional beekeepers.</p>
 +
 
 +
<br><p>The problem is way deeper that what we initially thought, it would be the lack of understanding and knowledge of beekeepers of the reality of bees' health problems. Could it be a problem of education ? In france anybody, without any formation, can become a beekeeper. This bring us to a particular situation where amateurish beekeepers, that have the majority of their knowledge only through media and word-out-mouth, have the political power over professional beekeepers who (might) have a deeper understanding of the needs of hives. This situation seems to create a loophole where the majority choose a black sheep to their beekeeping problems : Pesticids and neonicotinoids in particular.
 +
<br><p>With more than 90% of french beekeepers (professionals and amateurish mix-up) that believe that pesticides are the main reasons of CCD, no wonders how the main problem is either unknown or avoided. Why is this the case ? Probably that is it simplier for beekeepers to find an easy target than incriminate themselves and the managing of their beehives.
 +
For instance the Canadian population of bees have drastically increased since 2011 (13% bees population increase), despite the fact that the fields are treated with neonicotinoids in West-Canada. The same situation occurs in Australia, that doesn't have varroa, stressing the fact that pathogens might be a bigger problem than pesticids.</p>
 +
 
 +
<p>In August, the United States of Environnement protection Agency, just published the first of four rapports on the use of neonicotinoids, and concluded that the risk for bees was minimal. The 2015 USDA rapport conclude : The Varroa is from far the most harmful to bees, it is closely related to the disparition of hibernating beehives.</p>
 +
 
  
  

Revision as of 20:33, 19 October 2016