BEEKEEPING
&
DEVELOPMENT
41
AAA is the Asian Apicultural Association. AAA exists to link people in Asia - and beyond who are interested in Asian bees and Asian beekeeping. AAA functions by having Chapters (Representatives) in almost every Asian country, which together form a network for information flow. AAA is administered from the Honeybee Science Research Center of Tamagawa University, Japan.
AAA welcomes new members. A list of all Asian countries with Chapters, and contact names and addresses was published in B&DA4O, page 10. The AAA Membership is USS$20 per year, or the local equivalent. If you live in one of the countries with a representative, contact them direct. Otherwise send US$20 to: AAA Office, c/o Honeybee Science Research Center, Tamagawa University, Machida Shi, Tokyo 194, Japan. Fax:
81
427 39 8854,
Hanoi is a city of unexpected, tranquil beauty. A city with green lakes, red pagodas, tree-lined boulevards, and streets full of bicycles and cyclos (rick-shaws). Market streets spilling over with every kind of merchandise: produce, videos, silks, baskets, plastics. All mixed with grand buildings in the style of French villas, in shades of muted yellow, standing amid cool, leafy precincts. In the centre of Hanoi is Ho Chi Minh Museum. This was the setting for AAA’s third Conference. People from Africa, America, Australasia, Europe and the Middle East joined representatives from most Asian countries to participate in the Conference. In the centre of the Museum is an excellent lecture hall, and surrounding this are areas where beekeeping displays from around Asia were presented, and where the all-important meetings between friends and colleagues could take place.
And there was plenty to talk about: newly identified honeybee species, fresh insights into how honey is harvested from bees, new efforts to stimulate beekeeping in rural development. Apiculturalists in different fields presented their recent work. These were some of the highlights:
Traditional Tikung beekeeping, similar to the Apis dorsata rafter beekeeping of South Vietnam, is practised in Indonesia in West Kalimantan and Bilitung Island (see picture below right). @ Professor Niko Koeniger from Germany presented the research of his team on Apis nuluensis, the honeybee they have newly described from Borneo. (Nuluensis means belonging to mountains). @
@
Professor Gard Otis from Canada described work with Ms Soesilawati
Hadisoesilo on Apis nigrocincta, another previously unrecognised honeybee species from
ANG BEE MEDICAMENT ;.., OF CHINA TEACTORY |
CGottina dawn ta husinocs at
ano
af the
trade ctauds
hunters filmed using night-sight technology. These honey hunters are in the forests of Sabah (Borneo) collecting honey from the giant bee, Apis dorsata. The bees are nesting 20 m above ground in trees of the rainforest, and honey hunting is always done only on completely dark, moon-less nights. The video unveiled secrets, revealing the true skill and horror of the work involved. Professor Sasaki from Tamagawa University, Japan, described his team’s work to explain why Apis mellifera (the European honeybee) ventilates at the hive entrance facing in towards the hive, whereas Apis cerana (the Asian honeybee) faces the other way. Are Apis cerana facing outwards so they can watch for
approaching predators? Dr Naomi Saville described her work to
promote sustainable beekeeping in a remote part of Western Nepal. The conclusion?
Truly participatory development requires great commitment!
Indonesia. @
Ms Nguyen Thu Hang described Vietnam's work since 1989 to train farmers in Apis cerana beekeeping. A “Training of Trainers”
NEXT CONFERENCE The next AAA Conference will take place in Kathmandu,
Nepal in 1998. Keep reading
B&D for further details.
EIGHT
@
Mr Harryanto, Mr Tamrin and Mr Ade Jumhur are beekeepers from West Kalimantan (Indonesia). They are standing beside a
“Tikung”
a wooden
board underneath which one
programme is meeting with success.
colony of the giant honeybee Apis dorsata will build its
Mr Michael Gries (a member of the Koeniger team) showed a fascinating video of honey
single comb. In this traditional honey collecting system, the “Tikung” is placed in a forest tree and thus provides a nesting place convenient for both the bees and the beekeeper.
A Bees for Development publication
|
J
