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OF TH E S U N DAR BAN S
by Michael Burgett, Oregon State University, USA
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One of the most fascinating and dangerous areas of the world where honey hunting maintains its historical traditions and importance is the Sundarbans of
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Bangladesh and India. The Sundarbans, which translates as “beautiful forest”, is the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world, occupying an area of about
10,000 km2, 60% of the forest within Bangladesh and
40% within India. The Sundarbans is located
in the delta of the
River Ganges where it discharges into the Bay of Bengal. Numerous international programmes have attempted to preserve the biological richness and beauty of the Sundarbans, and recently
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In Bangladesh the Sundarbans has been managed and protected by the Forest Department for nearly 125 years and has the status it has been acknowledged by
of a reserved forest with controlled and very limited human access
(Eaton 1991).
No one Is allowed to live within the
Sundarbans. The only permanent human presences are the Forest Department Ranger Stations.
Ceriops decandra; and Keora, Sonneratia apetala. Zmarlicki (1994)
magnificent honeybee into the Sundarbans, beginning in
pollen resources for the bees. In Bangladesh the Sundarbans honey
December and continuing through January and February.
harvest is estimated to be between 130 and 185 tonnes per year--s
exposed nests high in the forest canopy, must here construct its large, single-comb nests relatively close to the ground, and therefore
accessible to honey hunters. In
Bangladesh it is estimated that 2,000 honey hunters
(termed ‘Mowallis’
in the
Bangla language) utilise the Sundarbans
during a controlled hunting season of two months in April and May
(Zmarlicki 1994; FAO 1998).
In
the Sundarbans this exploitation
of the giant honeybee resource has a long history, with one of the
earliest records being that of Buchanan, 1798: “A particular class ~
honey hunter
The Sundarbans is home to the giant honeybee Apis dorsata. There is an annual migration of thousands of colonies of this
Because of the nature of the mangrove forest, the tree species do not grow to great heights. Apis dorsata, which normally builds
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Singarggas
of men make a profession of collecting this ...honey and wax.
They are Mohammedans and pay a duty to the Zemeendars (local land owners) for the liberty to follow their profession.”
The main period of honey production takes place during April to _.June, Nectar is obtained from three major tree species found within the Sundarbans. These are Khulshi, Aegiceras corniculatum, Goran,
@ Beekeeping & Development 56
lists an additional nine plant species that are important nectar and
(Zmarlicki 1994; Hussain & Acharya 1995). The wax harvest, citing data from the same authors, is estimated to be between
42 and 45 tonnes. Mowallis must obtain permits from the Forestry Department before entering the Sundarbans. The Forestry
Department allocates quotas of honey and wax per man, currently set at 78 kg of honey and 20 kg of wax, for which the Forestry Department charges approximately US $4 for the honey allotment and US $3 for the wax allotment.
The honey harvested, estimated to be 50% of all honey produced in Bangladesh, is sold locally for US $2-3 per kilogram. The wax sells for about US $3 per kilogram. Processing of the honey is limited, usually being confined to a straining procedure, to remove extraneous matter that accumulates during the collection process.
There is an exception to this found in one company, South Bengal Focd Products, Khulna, which markets an attractive honey pack in
50, 100 and 200g glass jars, advertising the honey as "collected from the Sundarbans." The packed honey retails for the equivalent
of about US $7 per kilogram.
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