The role of honey hunting in supporting subsistence livelihoods in Sumbawa, Indonesia

Abstract

Key insightsThe strengths of point cloud technologies can meet the requirements of rural landscape heritage documentation from a cultural landscape perspective. This approach could greatly improve the efficiency and precision of traditional rural landscape documentation, which has the potential to change the methodology of rural landscape research and management.[Correction added on 5th February 2020, after first online publication: The key insight section was included] AbstractHoney from the giant Asian honey bee (Apis dorsata) has been harvested by communities throughout Southeast Asia for centuries. In Indonesia, 80 per cent of the national supply of honey comes from Sumbawa; however, there is limited information regarding the sustainability and importance of honey hunting in supporting rural livelihoods. This study used semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to examine honey hunting and forest honey production in Sumbawa. It evaluates the economic and cultural importance, opportunities, and constraints of honey hunting and prompts us to suggest that income generation from honey plays a critical role in supporting rural communities. Of respondents, 83 per cent reported that income from honey was essential and accounts for 68 per cent of cash income. Yet honey hunters were harvesting using destructive methods under dangerous conditions and are subject to unpredictable market prices and fluctuating yields. Unlike situations in other areas of Indonesia, no system of customary law was found to exist that defines ownership of honey trees and the right to harvest from them. Limited access to market information, high moisture content of honey, and limited training and extension services were identified as key constraints. Future research exploring the sustainability of harvesting practices and mechanisms for improving profitability of honey hunters would be valuable.

Aktivitas Terbang Sebelum Migrasi dan Identifikasi Polen Pada Madu Apis dorsata di Kampar, Riau

“…Lebah hutan atau Apis dorsata memiliki peran penting sebagai serangga polinator utama pada ekosistem hutan (Momose et al 1998). Selain itu, lebah A. dorsata juga memproduksi madu yang memiliki nilai sosial ekonomi penting bagi masyarakat di beberapa wilayah di Indonesia (Gratzer et al 2019;Schouten et al 2019).…”

The effect of land cover on the foraging behavior and pollen in the honey of the giant bee Apis dorsata in Sumatra

“…They also have a high flight range and efficient communication when foraging (Ruttner, 1988). Apis dorsata is important for honey hunters in Indonesia as the bees produce economically valuable honey (Schouten et al, 2020).…”

Biogeographies: Transcending anthropocentrism in the Anthropocene

“…More recently still, Schouten et al (2020) have studied honey hunting by Indigenous communities in Sumbawa, Indonesia, in the context of massive logging and habitat degradation, where honey from the target species, the Asian honey bee ( Apis dorsata ) has provided, on average, more than two‐thirds of the annual cash income for their informants. High production costs for maize and rice growing (advocated by government) ensured the greater profitability of honey hunting.…”

“…Little attention is given by the hunters to the impact of their harvesting on the viability of raided hives, threats to the queen, and the impact of appropriating almost all stored food for feeding future bee populations. The study notes the hunting communities show a “paucity of ecological data on A. dorsata and specifically on sustainable levels of harvesting” (Schouten et al, 2020, p. 73); this is an important caution against the frequent assumption of robust/resilient/informed indigenous knowledge and inclusive, non‐anthropocentric relations with nonhuman others, and more importantly, the need for integration of empirical and critical biogeographies.…”