The Geneva Federation for Cooperation has published special pages in the Geneva Forum on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-2030. Four articles explain and illustrate the MDGs to the general public in Geneva and show them that Geneva is strongly involved because of its link with the UN and also because of the projects financed by the Geneva municipalities through the FGC.
ADAP’s Tanzanian Inyonga project is one of four articles and summarizes how sustainable income-generating activities such as beekeeping can not only improve the daily lives of local people but also preserve forests.
Find more information and the link to download the pdf version of the articles here.
The translation of the article can be found below :
In Tanzania, beekeeping preserves the ecosystem
In accordance with ODD 12 and 15, the ADAP association supports beekeepers
In 2001, the Wakonongos requested technical support in beekeeping. This community, based in the Inyonga region of Tanzania, is engaged in this traditional activity at a large scale. “The Wakonongos used the bark of trees to make their hives and did not leave honey to bee colonies, which was not sustainable. Their practices no longer complied with the laws and created conflicts with the authorities responsible for the environmental management. This weakened their position in the negotiations with the State to obtain more rights over their ancestors’ forests,” explains Sandy Mermod, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of protected areas (ADAP).
With the support of a local group, the Inyonga Beekeeping Association (IBA), ADAP organized training courses to better take into account the environment, improve honey quality, increase productivity and access the National market. Beekeeping training is provided to family representatives in thirteen villages; nearly 3000 beekeepers have then been trained. In parallel, an 850 km2 beekeeping area has been established. The preservation of the forests covers makes it possible to produce quality honey, but also to protect the ecological nest of animal’s populations. The association has also obtained a certification for its honey and can now pass the health controls allowing him to better sell his production.
In sixteen years, beekeepers have gained in know-how and the increase in the price of honey has helped to improve their income. Over the past five years, however, the region has faced strong internal migration due to the drought in the north of the country and the fact that the city of Inyonga has become the capital of the district. This attracts new inhabitants and creates additional pressure on reserves and natural resources. “In our beekeeping project, we are satisfied with the results. At the regional level, many things are changing and require from us to adapt our program,” concludes Sandy Mermod.
ADAP works for the sustainable management of natural resources by local populations in order to ensure an autonomous future and stable incomes. Its philosophy is in line with the MDGs 13 on climate change, 15 on terrestrial life, 12 on responsible production and 17 on building partnerships to achieve them.