#FactFriday: Honeybees are saving the planet. Ask the mangroves

mangroves - cleanbuild

#FactFriday: Honeybees are saving the planet. Ask the mangroves

Hello readers.

Welcome to #FactFriday on CleanbuildVoices!

Have you ever wondered just how our planet is filled with gorgeous flowers of different hues, shapes, sizes, and fragrances? As you may already know, honeybees have a lot to do with that.

When asked about the benefits that bees bring to the environment, most people are quick to point out that they produce honey, a natural sweetener.

Some talk about bees as agents of pollination which means that they work to pollinate plants that produce many of the seeds, nuts, and fruits that serve as a food source for humans and wildlife. Indeed, bees have a valuable role to play in creating and maintaining our environment.

Did you know that bees can also help in the ongoing battle against climate change? Perhaps you’re wondering just how this is possible.

In this edition of #FactFriday, we will buzz around one of the world’s bees-iest insects (pun intended). The goal is to examine the relationship between honeybees and mangroves to see how bees are proving to be a sweet solution to mangrove restoration while supporting climate mitigation efforts in the process.

A symbiotic relationship of sweetness

What do we know about mangroves? Well, they are coastal forests of trees and shrubs that are rich in biodiversity. Mangroves are important to the ecosystem. For one, they are breeding grounds for fish and other marine life. They also provide a natural barrier to floods, storm surges, and coastal erosion, especially as a result of rising sea levels.

Recognized as nature-based solutions to the climate change crisis, mangrove plantations can mitigate the effects of climate change and increase communities’ ability to adapt to it. Yet, from 1980 to 2005, around 20% to 35% of the world’s mangrove forests were lost, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

With the current rate of deforestation, mangrove forests around the world face an even greater threat. Imagine the amount of carbon that will be released if mangrove trees were to be cut down. To prevent this, restoring and preserving mangroves has become a necessity globally. This is where honeybees come in.

By feeding on the mangrove flowers, bees can produce high-quality honey (mangrove honey) with no commercial additives which beekeepers can sell for a profitable price. For its part, the mangrove forest also benefits from pollination by the bees –when beehives are placed close to the trees, they improve their regenerative and restorative processes.

Another area bees help in preserving mangroves is in curbing the activities of loggers who claim to cut down trees for a living. For instance, in Kenya, a mangrove bee farming project was set up in 2015. Beehives were mounted on trees at different points in a mangrove forest to reduce deforestation as well as empower local treecutters.

It was discovered that loggers are more afraid of cutting down mangrove trees in areas where the hives are situated. Having been trained as beekeepers, former loggers now understand the value of the forest because they are now making a sustainable livelihood from it. Loggers are happy, the mangroves are safe, the bees are kept busy producing honey; a win-win for everybody.

Nigeria which has always had issues with deforestation can take a cue from Kenya, Vietnam, Egypt, and other countries leveraging bees in mangrove restoration.

Watch this space as we’ll be back for another edition of our #FactFriday next week.

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