Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

Traditional Beekeeping and Patterns of Host Tree Use in the Harenna Forest, Bale
Mountains National Park
Brigid Lefevre 1 and Michelle Pinard 2*
1 School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
2 Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
*Email: m.a.pinard@abdn.ac.uk
Introduction
Beekeeping has been practiced in the Bale region for at least eight generations but has been part
of Ethiopian culture since approximately the 4th century, as evidenced in the hieroglyphs of the
Egyptians (Fichtl and Adi 1994). Throughout Africa, beekeeping is recognised as contributing to
forest conservation as it relies on biological diversity for the provision of nectar sources and mature
trees as structural supports for hanging hives. Honey production is therefore an ecosystem service
provided by forests that enhances the sustainability of forest conservation programmes. Hanging or
suspended hives make up 99 percent of those found throughout Ethiopia; hives are hung or suspended
primarily as protection against honey badgers, Mellivora capensis (Bradbear 2004). Household use
and the production of Tej, a fermented honey wine consumed throughout Ethiopia, are identified as
the key uses of honey in the country but export and wax for candles are also important additional
sources of income (Adgaba 2002; Gebey 2002; Hartmann 2002; Bezabeh 2004).
Bee management practices in the Harenna Forest are still closely linked to traditional
methods although major social disruptions across the 20th century, including institutional change
and population movements, have meant that the succession of knowledge, generational and
community ties may have been lost or diluted. An important question for park management is
whether the contemporary beekeeping practices form a secure platform upon which sustainable
forest management can be achieved, or continued.
Methodology
This project sought to explore the practice of beekeeping in the Harenna forest. The research
endeavoured to integrate and highlight the importance of local, indigenous, traditional knowledge
of beekeeping practices. Ethnographical techniques were employed to gather local knowledge of
beekeeping and the trees used for hanging and constructing hives. Fieldwork was carried out over
a seven-week period as part of the Twin Gardens Expedition, a broader project seeking to collect
information useful for the management of the park.
Four beekeepers from the Rira area of the Harenna forest acted as guides and informants.
The researcher spent time with each informant, discussing their beekeeping practices and visiting
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