Colombia Uses Seized Timber to Help Bees and the Environment

[Judi Lynn]

By Paw Mozter Dec 30, 2023 10:09 AM EST

Colombia is home to more than 500 species of bees, but many of them are threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change.

To protect these vital pollinators, some local communities are turning to an unlikely source of help: illegally felled timber.

From Waste to Hives



Urban Beekeeping Growing In Popularity
(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

In the Colombian Amazon, illegal logging is a major problem that contributes to deforestation and biodiversity loss. However, some of the wood that is cut down is not suitable for commercial use and is left to rot or burn in the forest.

A group of beekeepers from the indigenous Tikuna community saw an opportunity to repurpose this waste wood and use it to create bee hives.

They partnered with a local environmental organization, Fundación Natura, and received training and support to start their apiaries
The beekeepers use a traditional technique called meliponiculture, which involves raising stingless bees that are native to the region. These bees produce less honey than the European honeybees, but their honey has medicinal and nutritional properties and is highly valued by the local people.

The beekeepers carve out cavities in the logs and place them in the forest, where the bees can find them and colonize them.

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More:
https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/60071/20231230/colombia-uses-seized-timber-help-bees-environment.htm