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Happy World Bee Day!

Posted on 20 May 2022

Human pressure on natural resources is reducing the abundance of resources and the sustainability of the services offered by nature itself.

However, the well-being of the world's population, its food, its material needs, its medicines ... and its well-being in general depends on the abundance of natural resources. In view of the biodiversity loss, the world's population is strongly advised to reduce the pressure on nature. Beekeeping is one of the activities WWF is popularizing to help local communities to improve their income.

Since 2013, communities around the Tsiribihina Delta, 100 km from Morondava have tried beekeeping and it has effectively improved their income. In this area, honey production was 1,000 liters per year, divided into 200 liters per producer.
But this performance has dropped since 2021 due to the proliferation of a parasitic disease: varroasis which has affected all the bees in the Tsiribihina Delta region. The source of the introduction of this parasite is still unknown. In order to fight against it and to try to revive the beekeeping sector, the producers have resorted to a treatment of the disease thanks to a "biopesticide". This treatment was popularized among all the producers thanks to a collaboration between the producing communities, the Regional Direction of Agriculture and Livestock and WWF which trained the producers on the procedures of treatment and biological fight: the treatment which was used is the essential oil of "Romba". Honey production in the Tsiribihina Delta area gradually improved between July 2021 and December 2021; as soon as the rainy season started, varroasis returned in force, and the biological treatment had to be reinforced because the disease was becoming recurrent - and therefore, the treatment has to be regular among beekeepers. Today, varroa control is being stepped up, with WWF contributing directly to the fight by distributing treatment products to producers.

"But widespread climate change is also a factor in the spread of the parasite: due to drought, water supply points for bees are decreasing, yet water is necessary for honey production and bee survival. Their resilience decreases without abundant water," explains Rindra Randriamanga of the WWF.

On this World Bee Day, May 20, the beekeepers of the Tsiribihina Delta call on all producers of the big island to be vigilant against this parasitic disease and to treat the varroa regularly to avoid its proliferation to other hives and, in this sense, to endanger the entire honey industry in Madagascar.
For the first time in Madagascar, a national celebration of the world bee day is organized in Morondava this May 20 to honor the bees. Fun activities, awareness raising, and the sale of honey produced sustainably by local communities are organized.

Happy World Bee Day!

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