Guwahati, Jan 9: Premier biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org), with the support of the SBI Foundation (SBIF), promotes community-focused solutions that strengthen livelihoods while encouraging peaceful coexistence between people and elephants in human-elephant conflict (HEC) affected landscapes of Assam.
As part of this initiative, we have promoted the use of bee hive fencing by distributing 20 bee boxes with live colonies to community members in No. 3 Bholatar, No. 2 Bamunjuli, and No. 1 Tankibasti villages in Udalguri district of Assam.
This initiative was undertaken to support alternative and supplementary livelihood options for families severely affected by recurring crop losses due to frequent elephant movement.
In these villages, most households depend heavily on paddy cultivation; however, repeated crop damage has made farming increasingly risky and economically unsustainable.
Recognising this challenge, Aaranyak has introduced beekeeping as a nature-based solution which is also a human elephant conflict mitigation measure because of potential use of bee hive fencing near agricultural fields.
Under the initiative, 10 bee boxes were distributed in No. 3 Bholatar, 5 in No. 1 Tankibasti, and 5 in No. 2 Bamunjuli. Beneficiaries received bee boxes along with live colonies, enabling them to adopt beekeeping and, if they choose, use the boxes as part of bee hive fencing.
Beekeeping offers a dual benefit in conflict-prone landscapes. It provides an additional source of income through honey and other bee products, while the presence of active bee colonies can help discourage elephants from entering crop areas, particularly during night, thereby reducing the likelihood of conflict.
The initiative was facilitated by the Aaranyak team Abhijit Saikia, Jaugashar Basumatary, and Pradip Barman.
