A. Species
Scientific name: Apis dorsata
Common name(s): Asian honey bee
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Lesser Sunda Is.
Country/Region: Indonesia/ Sumbawa
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Four rural villages (Kelungkung, Semongkat, Dusun Sampa, and Desa Batudulang) and one urban village (Kebaya)
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2018
End Year: 2018
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Collecting or harvesting parts or products from wild animals (e.g., eggs, wild honey, vicuna fibre)
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence and Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)
Is this use legal or illegal?: Unknown/not recorded
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Despite certain groups understanding sustainable methods of harvesting, rather than destroying/taking hives, competition for resources with groups that do not undertake sustainable practices increases pressures to over exploit the resource to secure their own families’ incomes, thus harvesting of A. dorsata colonies is often a destructive process.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Despite the important direct social, economic and health benefits of honey, and secondary benefits through trade and income generation, due to destructive harvesting methods (taking entire hives, rather than harvesting only the top of the comb where the honey is stored and leaving behind the brood nest to enable the colony to re-establish), loss of bee colonies and reduced honey harvest per unit effort seems inevitable, although this study did not formally quantify the rate of decline.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Despite the important direct social, economic and health benefits of honey, and secondary benefits through trade and income generation, due to destructive harvesting methods (taking entire hives, rather than harvesting only the top of the comb where the honey is stored and leaving behind the brood nest to enable the colony to re-establish), loss of bee colonies and reduced honey harvest per unit effort seems inevitable, although this study did not formally quantify the rate of decline.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Despite the important direct social, economic and health benefits of honey, and secondary benefits through trade and income generation, due to destructive harvesting methods (taking entire hives, rather than harvesting only the top of the comb where the honey is stored and leaving behind the brood nest to enable the colony to re-establish), loss of bee colonies and reduced honey harvest per unit effort seems inevitable, although this study did not formally quantify the rate of decline.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Limited access to market information, the high moisture content of honey, and limited training and extension services were identified as key constraints on improving the economic returns of homey harvesting in this region, and thus efforts to remedy these factors would be beneficial. Specifically, to improve quality and supply among honey cooperatives, honey hunters need village specific support and improved social relations with cooperatives, such as: • financial support for setting up farmers’ groups and purchasing equipment for safe harvesting and sanitary post-harvesting, such as sealable buckets and strainers; • improved collection or transportation services; • improved educational and extension services; and • improved market security and transparency for honey prices among all groups
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2020-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-26