EU Bee Partnership Prototype Platform aims at collecting and exchanging standardised data on pollinator health and other relevant data based on the Bee Hub Proof of concept.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently financing the development of a platform to collect, integrate and communicate bee and pollinator-related data. The platform is based on the Bee Hub Proof of Concept (PoC) initially led by BeeLife European Beekeeping Coordination within the framework of the Internet of Bees Project. This new stage of development aims at responding to the main conclusions of the EU Bee Partnership: the need for data standardisation and communication. 

Bees and other insect pollinators are becoming increasingly relevant in the public debate. European authorities now recognise the environmental risks pollinators face and the need for institutional action. Given their importance for ecosystems and their role in our food security, the commitment to protect pollinators has been growing, and data is essential to fulfilling this commitment. 

Different agents and stakeholders are continually collecting data related to the status of pollinators, such as researchers, environmental, health or agricultural authorities, national beekeeping, or farming associations. One of the goals of the EU Bee Partnership Prototype Platform is to improve collaborations based on data-sharing. 

The current development of the platform is coordinated by EFSA and executed under procurement contract NP/EFSA/SCER/2020/01 by BeeLife (an NGO focused on the protection of pollinators and biodiversity in Europe). The prototype development will take place between June 2020 and February 2021. 

The platform is the first materialisation of the conclusions of the EU Bee Partnership regarding the need to integrate bee and pollinator-related data. The partnership is a stakeholder platform dynamised by EFSA, which includes representatives from the beekeeping and farming sectors, NGOs, veterinarians, academia, industry, producers, and scientists.

Current stakeholders and observers of the EU Bee Partnership



The EU Bee Partnership prototype platform also includes developments from the Apimondia working group on the standardisation of data on bees - Bee XML. Bee XML is the ongoing measure to reach a new model for sharing bee data, and the Bee Hub aims at implementing these standards.

For more information regarding the EU Bee Partnership prototype platform, possibilities of participation to the initiative and data collaboration, please contact info@bee-life.eu