RECENT RESEARCH Wild bee conservation
Scientists at the University of Cambridge UK, led by Professor William J Sutherland, have brought together scientific knowledge and experience about how to conserve wild bees around the world, in a free online resource Bee Conservation: evidence for the effects of interventions. The synopsis summarises evidence for 59 different actions you could take to help bees, from planting flowers in farmland to supporting beekeepers keeping indigenous species. Developed in partnership with an international group of bee experts, the synopsis will inform people taking action or spending
RESOURCES
Bees for Development Journal 97
money to benefit bees – from farmers to international NGOs – about what works and what does not. Evidence from 29 studies shows that providing nest boxes on agricultural land can benefit solitary bees. In several parts of the world solitary bees, including endangered species, will use nest boxes. Three studies show that numbers of nesting bees can double over three years with repeated nest box provision. Bees can be problematic in places they are not indigenous, and there is some evidence about how to reduce the impacts of invasive nonindigenous bee species. For example a concerted effort to eradicate European bufftailed bumblebees from small patches of Japanese countryside increased numbers of the indigenous bumblebees, but did not remove the invaders altogether. “Habitat preservation and the proper
application and use of insecticides are the most important issues in bee conservation now,” says Peter Kwapong, of the International Stingless Bee Centre in Ghana, a member of the Advisory Board.
The bee synopsis is part of a project called Conservation Evidence, which aims to make conservation practice more science-based. The project has an open access journal where conservationists can document their experience and an online database of evidence. The series of synopses, of which Bee Conservation is the first, will cover major species groups and habitat types. Synopses are already being prepared for birds, butterflies, grassland and farmland. The Bee Conservation synopsis is available at: www.conservationevidence.com.
Lynn Dicks, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Steps to sustainable and community-based NTFP management
The purpose of this excellent manual by Mary Stockdale is to provide the reader with a practical guide to working with a community towards sustainable NTFP management. The manual has special reference to south and southeast Asia where forest-dwelling communities have managed non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for generations, including products such as mangos from India, rattan from the Philippines, or honey from Indonesia.
Download at: www.iapad.org/publications/ppgis/stockdale_book.pdf
Mazao ya Nyuki (Bee Products)
Now also in Kiswahili with translation by Emmanuel Muterere.
Booklet 42 in the Agrodok series published by the Agromisa Foundation introduces the products provided by bees and how the beekeeper can capitalise on them.
Entering the organic export market
Booklet 48 in the Agrodok series is a practical guide for farmers’ organisations. Honey is one of the products covered.
These booklets are available as pdf downloads at www.agromisa.org. Printed versions can be purchased from the Bf D Store.
The Agrodok series is also now available on CD. 50 titles in English, French and Portuguese dealing with smallscale agriculture and rural development in the tropics.
See Bookshelf and page 16 for more resources
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