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Mountain Partnership’s CHINAR speaks at World Bee Day event

25.05.2020

The precious role of bees and beekeeping for livelihoods in mountains such as the Himalayas was outlined at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) high-level World Bee Day event on 20 May 2020.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu opened the celebrations, highlighting the importance of bees and their products and the role of beekeepers. The discussion included the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the beekeeping sector and how it affects production, markets and as a consequence, the livelihoods of beekeepers.

Pradeep Mehta, Honorary Chairman and Founder Trustee of CHINAR, gave a comprehensive overview of the challenges to beekeeping in India and explained how they are turning these challenges into opportunities to conserve biodiversity and sustainably improve livelihoods.

Among the challenges, Mehta says, a major problem is the lack of generational continuity in beekeeping in the Himalayas. “Knowledge is not being transferred to the next generation. There are a few youths who are interested, but the others are not," he says.

Mehta explains that many people are unaware of the many benefits bees provide to the environment and the community. For example, he says, “The ecosystem services these beekeepers provide to the adjoining areas is very important. It maintains the biodiversity of the farms and the adjoining landscape.” However, Mehta reports that many farmers are unaware of bees’ importance. CHINAR is working to remedy this through widespread awareness raising.

Even so, as Mehta describes, honey is spiritually important to these communities. “Here in these mountain areas people regard [honey] as a special food; it’s not something they eat every day but it’s for special occasions. It is a holy food for these indigenous people - they offer it to the local deities and gods,” states Mehta.

Vijay Singh, from the Sama village, says: “Beekeeping brings luck. The honey is used as offering in temples and beneficial for our health.”

CHINAR is taking steps to overcome these challenges. They are promoting data collection on beekeeping - which is severely lacking - by conducting surveys on beekeeping practices in the villages that participate in caring for bees. This documentation is provided to many partners, such as a FAO publication highlighting indigenous peoples’ practices.

Learn more about World Bee Day

Photo from Pradeep Mehta