Equal Access of Beekeepers to Pasture Resources in the Kyrgyz Republic
Beekeeping is an important branch of agriculture aimed at breeding honey bees in order to obtain valuable products such as honey, pollen, wax, royal jelly, which are beneficial to human health. Beekeeping also benefits the entire area, as bees contribute to pollination of plants, including crops.
Beekeeping contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources, prevents the disappearance of rare and endemic plant species and improves the natural restoration of the vegetation cover of pastures, and also affects the increase in the productivity of wild and agricultural plants.
Years of implementation: July 15, 2012 - March 31, 2014
Place of implementation: Chon-Kemin district, Kok-Oyrok aiyl aimak, Karal-Dobo villages, Kayindy, Tegirmenti
Donor: Darwin Initiative, UK
Partner: Bees for Development, UK
In Kyrgyzstan, the number of beekeepers is sharply decreasing every year for various reasons, one of which is the difficult access to pasture resources due to their disputes with herders and other users. This arises as a result of a weak regulatory framework that does not take into account the needs and does not regulate the rights of beekeepers as equal users of pasture resources.
The objective of the project was to support beekeepers by providing rights of use and access to pastures to create viable and sustainable beekeeping, reduce poverty, resolve conflicts over natural resource use, and preserve biodiversity in pilot communities.
Main project activities included:
1. Raising awareness of pasture users, land users, local population, and representatives of local and state institutions about the benefits and misconceptions about beekeeping;
2. Conducting community dialogues with the involvement of beekeepers, herders, members of the local association of pasture users and community residents in order to discuss the problems of beekeeping and ways to solve them;
3. Teaching young families and shepherds to conduct beekeeping for the further development of beekeeping in the area;
4. Conducting a legal and institutional review to develop recommendations aimed at supporting and strengthening the rights of beekeepers' access to pastures;
5. Carrying out mapping and creation of a map of the movement of beekeepers in pastures for use as a planning tool and the inclusion of a map of beekeeping in the Pasture Management Plan;
6. Strengthening the capacity of the Republican Association of Beekeepers to represent and promote the rights of beekeepers at the local and national levels.
The project resulted in:
- Within the framework of the project, it was planned to improve the regime for the use of pastures and pasture resources for beekeepers, including the formal recognition of beekeepers as equal members of the association of pasture users participating in the decision-making and pasture management process.
- Awareness among the population about the benefits of honey bees and the impact of beekeeping on improving the quality of life of the population was improved.
- Also, the project contributed to the sustainable management of the local ecosystem and the preservation of the unique biodiversity of the Chon-Kemin valley.
Project partners and participants:
- Republican Association of Beekeepers;
- Pasture Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic;
- Chon-Kemin National Park;
- Local Association of Pasture Users of the Kyrgyz Republic;
- Local government bodies;
- Local communities.
Bees for Development is an independent organization founded in 1993 in the UK. Bees for Development assists beekeepers in the development of beekeeping to provide opportunities for obtaining a permanent source of income and preserving biodiversity. In addition to project work in Africa and Asia, Bees for Development conducts extensive outreach work through international networks and beekeeping organizations in developing countries.