Bees for Development Journal 121 December 2016
Honey trade conserves forests in Ethiopia
The Body Shop is an international cosmetics company aiming for high environmental sustainability standards when sourcing ingredients, and to use trade to promote biodiversity conservation. In 2016 The Body Shop asked Bees for Development to undertake a sustainability study of forest beekeeping in Ethiopia, to determine whether forest beekeeping and the harvest of honey and beeswax cause harm to the environment, and to seek any positive link between honey trade and forest conservation. Background The rainforests of Sheka Zone, Ethiopia, are centres of high biodiversity and the forests remain relatively intact. The importance of these forests has been recognised by categorisation as a UN Biosphere Reserve in 2013. Government regulations outlaw forms of forest exploitation such as logging and clear-felling, yet against this background deforestation and forest degradation continues (Sutcliffe et al. 2012). Forest beekeeping is widespread and a well-established activity for income generation, with large volumes of honey and beeswax traded in the area. The forest provides all the natural resources – bees, flowers, and hive-making materials - that are required.
Methodology The study was undertaken in The Body Shop’s honey supply areas. Primary data was collected through a household questionnaire involving sixty beekeepers, group discussions with farmer-led honey trading groups and interviews with key informants. Secondary data was also consulted. The honey supply
locations have seen considerable forestry conservation and NTFP enterprise intervention in recent years. The NTFP-PFM Project1 ran from 2003-2013, and is now continuing with new funding and a new name, REPAFMA2. This project was the source of important information about the status of Participatory Forest Management (PFM) agreements in the area.
Photos © Bees for Development
Janet Lowore and Nicola Bradbear
Results
Honey bee health and population status “I always find adequate bee swarms occupying my hives as I expected.” Nesiro Shifa, Gemechu Honey bee health and population status were gauged only through beekeeper interviews. No population or health surveys were conducted. Results are shown in Table 1. Beekeepers said that they have never observed symptoms of honey bee disease. Many beekeepers (more than half) considered that there were fewer swarms than usual this year– and some gave reasons which included the weather and normal yearly fluctuations. Others mentioned possible harm caused by chemicals used in plantations. When asked if there will be enough bees in the future, if the number of beekeepers increases, 45% expressed confidence that “bees reproduce – there will be enough”. Others were less certain (30%) or said they did not know (25%).
HONEYMANIA – one of The Body Shop products featuring honey from Sheka rainforest in Ethiopia Impact of hive-making on availability of forestry resources “It might seem a lot is extracted because of the hives we make - but it is balanced - what we put in - in terms of conservation - is greater than the taking out of hives.” Chairperson, Shuno Begatti Honey Co-op The Body Shop asked if hivemaking caused forest degradation.
Table 1. Responses to questions about the status of the honey bee population Question (N = 60)
Yes
No
Don’t know
In general, is the overall population of honey bees healthy?
55 (92%)
0
5 (8%)
Compared with a normal year, are there enough bee colonies to occupy empty hives this year?
22 (37%)
37 (62%)
1 (1%)
If the number of beekeepers increases – will there be enough bees for everyone?
27 (45%)
18 (30%)
15 (25%)
9
