Abstract

The viability of productive conservation depends on efforts to manage economic and ecological factors to ensure that the relationship between communities and environment could be sustained. Beekeeping is linking conservation and local livelihoods based on the principle that watershed pay for itself by generating sustainable economic benefits for local communities. The study revealed that by increasing beekeeping skill, honey producers in the watershed realized the value and the need to conserve watershed as they obtained alternative income from honey production as high value commodity. Honey producers have traditional culture to maintain diverse floral resources around their homesteads and farm boundaries designed to increase honey production thus help to enhance watershed conservation and climate change adaption. Quality honey was harvested through adopting good watershed rehabilitation, standard colony management and harvesting methods. An average of 15.5 kg of honey was harvested per harvesting season from intermediate hive. Therefore, if watershed conservation and livelihood preservation are to occur, it is important to bring the voices of honey producers to the forefront of watershed conservation efforts. Given the opportunity and potentials for increased export for honey in Ethiopia, it was recommended that the government at all levels should provide technical services to align improved beekeeping to watershed conservation so that honey production is increased and sustained.

Keywords: Beekeeping; Watershed conservation; Climatic change; Honey production