TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the impacts of land use and climate interactions on beekeeping livelihoods in the Taita Hills, Kenya
AU - Newman, Rebecca Jo Stormes
AU - Marchant, Rob
AU - Enns, Charis
AU - Capitani, Claudia
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Economic and Social Research Council: [Grant Number ES/J500215/1].
Funding Information:
Rebecca Jo Stormes Newman is a PhD student at the University of York, funded by the Economic Research and Social Council under the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership. She is currently researching alternative scenario pathways for sustainable livelihoods in the Zanzibar Archipelago. She has a MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from the University of Leeds and a MSc in Environmental Economics and Environmental Management from the University of York. Rebecca is also a qualified teacher of science.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021/5/19
Y1 - 2021/5/19
N2 - Beekeeping is commonly adopted as an additional livelihood activity that can help smallholder farmers diversify and enhance their livelihoods. However, it is unclear whether it is resilient to environmental shocks and stresses. This article investigates beekeepers’ experiences and perceptions about challenges to beekeeping in the Taita Hills Mountains, Kenya. Key findings demonstrated that beekeeping has the capacity to substantially increase household income, but there are several challenges which affect beekeeping’s sustainability considering predictions around climate and land use change. Bee population decline due to pesticide use was seen as a major challenge across the altitudinal range. In the highland areas deforestation, land use conflicts and cold weather were key issues; whereas in the lowlands water availability and the associated impacts on floral availability were the primary concerns of beekeepers.
AB - Beekeeping is commonly adopted as an additional livelihood activity that can help smallholder farmers diversify and enhance their livelihoods. However, it is unclear whether it is resilient to environmental shocks and stresses. This article investigates beekeepers’ experiences and perceptions about challenges to beekeeping in the Taita Hills Mountains, Kenya. Key findings demonstrated that beekeeping has the capacity to substantially increase household income, but there are several challenges which affect beekeeping’s sustainability considering predictions around climate and land use change. Bee population decline due to pesticide use was seen as a major challenge across the altitudinal range. In the highland areas deforestation, land use conflicts and cold weather were key issues; whereas in the lowlands water availability and the associated impacts on floral availability were the primary concerns of beekeepers.
KW - Environment (built and natural)–Agriculture, Climate change, Food security
KW - Labour and livelihoods–Poverty reduction
KW - sub-Saharan Africa
UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2020.1854689
U2 - 10.1080/09614524.2020.1854689
DO - 10.1080/09614524.2020.1854689
M3 - Article
VL - 31
SP - 446
EP - 461
JO - Development in Practice
JF - Development in Practice
SN - 0961-4524
IS - 4
ER -