Nairobi, Kenya – (African Boulevard News) – Kenya, as one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, boasts a diverse range of wildlife that includes elephants, which are a key tourist attraction. However, as delightful as they may be, the gentle giants are also a significant threat to the livelihoods of farmers who plant crops in their habitats. Despite the Kenyan government’s effort to resolve the dispute between the two, the farmers have had to devise innovative ways to protect their crops, which have now drawn global attention.
Farmers in the country have come up with a clever way of deterring these behemoths from spoiling their yields by using bees. The initiative, called “bees for elephants,” uses honey bees as a natural barrier to prevent elephants from raiding crops and causing billions of shillings in damage each year.
The project, funded by the British Government’s Darwin Initiative and the Rufford Foundation, offers training and hives to farmers living near national parks to keep bees, with the aim of creating a network of beehive fences around farms. When elephants approach the crops, they disturb the hives, and the agitated bees then swarm and sting the elephants, deterring them from further destruction.
The “bees for elephants” program aims to promote non-violent approaches to managing human-elephant conflicts and increase the income of farmers through the sale of honey and beeswax. The scheme has already been implemented in Tsavo National Park, where farmers have reported a reduction in elephant crop damage from 80% to less than 10%.
One farmer, Esther Nthiga, said, “We used to have a lot of conflict with elephants. They would destroy our crops, and we would be unable to sell anything. Since we introduced the bees, the elephants come and then go away immediately. The bees keep them away.”
Critics argue that the initiative is not a long-term solution and that it remains unclear how the project will be sustained beyond the initial grant funding period. However, farmers have praised the initiative for offering a simple and effective intervention that improves their livelihoods.
The “bees for elephants” program is an exceptional example of how innovative solutions can promote conservation, alleviate human-wildlife conflict, and boost local economies simultaneously. The implementation of similar initiatives in other parts of the continent could significantly reduce the conflict between humans and wildlife, promoting peaceful co-existence between the two.
