Bee Population Crisis: Norway Builds World's First Highway Meant Only For Bees

Bees play a vital role in the production of food, and their population has declined all over the world in the past few years. In an attempt to prevent the disruption in food production and protect the bees, a group in Oslo, Norway, has designed the world's first “bee highway.”

To create a bee highway, the different state sectors and companies collaborate with the private residents. The group hopes to provide bees with a “safe passageway to the city through adequate shelter and food sources,” reported the Tech Times.

The participants of the project are transforming some of the rooftops into an environment which is suitable for the bee population. People lay a bed of grass, in addition to flowers that act as a pollination ground for the bees. In addition, a few “stops” have also been created along the highway to offer food and resting places for the bees.

People have been asked to pitch in their support if they wish to devote a part of their rooftop to the cause. The complete interactive map of the bee highway can be viewed at polli.no. The interactive map changes as more people join the project.

"We are constantly reshaping our environment to meet our needs, forgetting that other species also live in it. To correct that we need to return places to them to live and feed," says Bybi's head Agnes Lyche Melvaer. Bybi is the leading environmental group of the project.

Bee population is on the decline in Norway. The trend is even more severe in the U.S. and other European countries. Food production could be severely affected, since nearly 30 to 40 percent of food production takes place due to natural pollination.