Among the municipalities on the peninsula worst affected by deforestation over the past decade are Othon P. Blanco and Bacalar, both in the south of Quintana Roo, according to a recent report by Greenpeace.
Norway announced that it will work with partners in Yucatán on several environmental initiatives. The project will center on several rural municipalities including Tekax, Yaxcabá, and Peto. The goal of the initiative is to promote traditional and environmentally friendly practices in agriculture and beekeeping. “In the race to modernize we have lost so much. This…
In Yucatán, bugs are abundant, varied, and a tad frightening. Yet they are not all dangerous and are sometimes even desirable house guests.
Decreasing bee populations have lead to a major reduction in honey production all over the peninsula. “Less than a decade ago, Yucatán produced between 10,000 and 13,000 tons of honey a year but is currently only able to produce less than half of that,” says apiculturist Nelly Ortiz. Scientists believe that the main reasons for…
Leydy Pech, a 55-year-old apiculturist from Campeche, has won a historic legal victory against corporate giant Monsanto. Mexico’s supreme court ruled in favor of Pech — also known as the “bee lady” — who argued that genetically modified soybean crops were adversely affecting the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and the ecosystem of southern Mexico. The court also…
Beekeepers in Yucatan, whose livelihood was decimated by drought, and then Tropical Storm Cristobal, were given 500 queen bees to restart honey production. The state’s support will allow local Maya producers to continue cultivating bees they managed to save from the storm and floods, said José Ramón Glory Morales, who is in charge of the…
Due to Yucatan’s historic drought and high temperatures, the plant known as the dzidzilché has not flourished. This is bad news for beekeepers, and for the honey bees that fuel much of the Peninsula’s economy. A low harvest scenario is predicted, said the director of Abeja Planet, Nelly Ortiz Vázquez. “We are waiting for the…
Beekeepers in the Yohactun Hidaglo neighborhood are gathering court evidence after a mass die-off in their hives.
Yucatecan beekeepers are looking for new ways to maintain production as they face perhaps their biggest set of crises in memory. Boom times for honey from Yucatan, roughly from 2008 to 2012, are over. At the time, Yucatan was first in Mexico in both honey production and exports. A major customers was on the other…
Yucatan Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal visited the Centro de Producción de Abejas Reinas in Tizimín, one of 14 new state-supported queen bee production centers that will be established in the state.
Collective calls for protections on World Bee Day plea to save pollinators from extinction.
Ten days after a farmer sprayed his habanero crop with fipronil pesticide, bees are still dying, and within a growing radius.
Authorities are investigating the long-term impact of a “toxic cloud” that killed at least 15 million bees, putting at risk next year’s honey harvest.
Biologist Gretel Castillo, who is among the beekeepers keeping the ancient tradition alive, said that it is fortunate that young people in cities show a growing interest in the craft.
Agitated bees attacked numerous supermarket customers at Chedraui Caucel, where at least two customers were sent to a hospital.
Demand for honey, one of Yucatán’s better-known exports, has grown as fraudulent producers undercut legitimate beekeeping operations.
A collective of knitters exhibits their massive art project, and will discuss both the plight of the bees, and how yarn has intersected with activism.
Despite the fact that Yucatán continues to be the main honey producer in the country, its production has been decreasing year by year.
An ancient Maya farming practice that would seem to be destructive is actually beneficial to the bee population, reports Science Daily.
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