To protect mangroves, some Kenyans combat logging with hidden beehives

Published 2024년 7월 15일

Tridge summary

In Kenya, 69-year-old Peter Nyongesa is using bees to protect mangroves in Mombasa from logging and urban development, as part of a local conservation initiative. Mangroves, crucial for preventing erosion and absorbing severe weather impacts, are facing global collapse due to illegal logging, climate change, rising seas, and pollution. Despite Kenya's 10-year community conservation plan, resources remain inadequate. Beekeeping not only generates income through honey but also serves as a deterrent, with bees stinging loggers and aiding in pollination. The UNEP-Nairobi Convention is promoting livelihood-conservation integration. Kenya's mangroves cover 54,430 hectares and contribute $85 million annually to the economy.

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Original content

MOMBASA, Kenya — Dressed in protective clothing and armed with a smoker, Peter Nyongesa walked through the mangroves to monitor his beehives along the Indian Ocean coastline. The 69-year-old Nyongesa recalled how he would plead unsuccessfully with loggers to spare the mangroves or cut only the mature ones while leaving the younger ones intact. "But they would retort that the trees do not belong to anyone but God," he said. So he has turned to deterring the loggers with bees, hidden in the mangroves and ready to sting. Their hives now dot a section of coastline in Kenya's main port city of Mombasa in an effort to deter people who chop mangroves for firewood or home construction. It's part of a local conservation initiative. "When people realize that something is beneficial to them, they do not consider the harm that comes with it," Nyongesa said of the loggers. Mangroves, which thrive in salty water, help in preventing erosion and absorbing the impact of severe weather events such ...

Source: Npr