The widely forested areas of Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) are favorable for the small-scale beekeeping practices that have developed in the northern provinces. Natural beekeeping (local beekeepers have hung beehives in or nearby forest with A. cerana
Together with Prof. CHEN Jin, Souvick Chanthayod, who is from Lao and now pursuing his Master degree at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a study to see the benefits of beekeeping and its contribution to forest conservation.
The researchers used a systematic sampling approach to select 120 households both for the survey and interviews.
They designed structured questionnaires to obtain demographic information that included the following: age, gender, educational level (primary school, secondary school, and technical school), family size, number of laborers, occupation, and years of beekeeping experience.
The questionnaire also included seven items related to attitudes toward biodiversity conservation (e.g., cutting the forest is a good for keeping bees; I often convince people not to cut the trees in the forest; etc).
They found that local households do indeed generate a more significant income by collecting honey than from other non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
Furthermore, beekeepers also tend to have pro-environmental attitudes toward forest conservation. Most beekeepers hold the view that sustainable forest management practices are good for beekeeping, and they are willing to convince other people not to disturb the forests.
The study entitled “People’s Perceptions of the Benefits of Natural Beekeeping and Its Positive Outcomes for Forest Conservation A Case Study in Northern Lao PDR” has been published in Tropical Conservation Science.
Photos showing beekeepers locating beehives nearby/within natural forest; (a) Hanging beehives in the forest; (b) Small apiculture near the forest; (c) Set beehive logs surround rice store; (d) apiculture hut inside forest. (Image by Souvick Chanthayod)
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