Information from ICIMOD - Collective wisdom on indigenous honeybees

Faroog Ahmad, Uma Partap, Surendra R Joshi and Min B Gurung

This is the ninth article in the series bringing news about the work of the Austrian Government funded beekeeping project at ICIMOD in Kathmandu, Nepal. ICIMOD and Austroprojekt GmbH in Vienna, Austria jointly manage the project. In BfDJ 65 we described our approaches to recruiting the media in the fight to conserve indigenous honeybees. Here is some news about how we are collecting information about indigenous knowledge and practices.

One of the major challenges in the mountains of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) is to turn the vicious cycle of poverty, environmental degradation, and lack of access into a virtuous cycle of hope, sustainable development, and equitable access. Many approaches are being used in the region to achieve this. ICIMOD's indigenous honeybee project is concerned with the special aspect of honeybees and the roles they play in maintaining floral biodiversity and crop productivity and in income generation - particularly for subsistence farmers in poorly accessible areas. The project uses an approach that combines the tools of community empowerment with the conservation and genetic improvement of indigenous bee species and streamlining the marketing of bee products. The aim is to help communities reap financial benefits from an indigenous resource whilst preserving bee species that will contribute in the long-term to ensuring ‘pollination of crops and maintenance of plant biodiversity.

Himalayan honeybees are little understood elements of mountain biodiversity, yet they play an important role in mountain livelihoods and cultures in addition to their critical role in pollination. Increasingly, however, traditional values and practices are being replaced by modern aspirations and approaches. The change in the HKH region is rapid, within a single generation ways of life that have been maintained for centuries are being lost. The ICIMOD bee project is searching for the collective wisdom on indigenous honeybees handed down over generations, and information about the role of bees in strengthening mountain communities, to promote understanding of the role of bees in indigenous societies as well as to ensure that the wealth of indigenous knowledge is not lost to future generations.

As a part of this process, a meeting was held with partners and regional professionals to initiate thought provoking discussions and facilitate exchange of information with a view to long-term collaboration in studies of bees and indigenous knowledge and wisdom, and in activities to preserve these indigenous species. The discussions focused on the following:

- Sharing country specific technical (systematic) information on wild bees

- Population distribution and nesting areas and the role of wild honeybees in rural livelihoods

- Information on honey hunting communities, tools, spirituality, traditions, and honey markets

- Floral dimensions and the importance of pollination related to wild bees

- Analysis of existing policies related to the indigenous honeybees in the region, and interventions required to conserve them and associated ecosystems, including suggestions for evolving a supportive policy environment

- Irresponsible pesticide use and its implications for bee species

- Constraints and opportunities in dealing with issues related to the promotion and conservation of wild bees

- Development of a gender-related perspective based on regional information

- Preparation of an inventory of institutions and individuals associated with bees.

Experts in apiculture from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan (see box) met for two days in Kathmandu, in January 2003. They ‘discussed these issues and developed a framework for carrying out studies on indigenous honeybees and associated communities in the HKH region. The participants shared existing country specific information and study methodologies and agreed time-line charts for the studies.

Participants from outside ICIMOD

Jagadish Chandra Saha, Project Director, Beekeeping Project, Bangladesh Small and Cottage. Industries Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Khundkar Shariful Islam, Mymonsing Agriculture University, Bangladesh

Dhan Raj Ghalay, Post Harvest Unit, Department of Research and Development Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Paro, Bhutan

Tan Ken, Eastern Bee Research Institute, Kunming, China

Desh Raj and Chauhan, Ch Sarwan Kumar HP Agricultural University, Palampur, India

Maung Maung Sein, Deputy Director, Beekeeping Department, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Myanmar

Siddique Munawar, Senior Scientific Officer, Honeybee Research Institute, NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan

Jaya Kumar KC, Chief, Bee Development Section, HMG Nepal

Ram Prasad Gurung, President, BEENPRO, Kaski, Nepal