Breeding Stingless Bees to Halt Deforestation in Caquetá

In Caquetá, Colombia -- one of the country's most heavily deforested regions -- the Amazon Conservation Team helps 60 farming families integrate Melipona stingless beekeeping into their agroforestry plots around the buffer zone of Alto Fragua Indi Wasi National Park. The native bees pollinate crops and forest trees while their honey provides an income alternative to cattle ranching and coca cultivation, the two drivers most responsible for deforestation in the area. Participating farmers are steadily scaling up their apiaries -- some now keep more than 20 hives across multiple native Melipona species -- while ACT biologists provide technical training and market connections for the honey. The same meliponiculture model now spans ACT programs in Colombia, Suriname, and Brazil, engaging roughly 80 additional beekeepers across five Surinamese villages alone.