Ghent University, Department of Agricultural Economics, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience (ECOS), C.F. Møllers Allé 4-8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Aug 25;888:164255. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164255. Epub 2023 May 16.
The beekeeping sector is suffering from the detrimental effects of climate change, both directly and indirectly. Despite numerous studies conducted on this subject, large-scale research incorporating stakeholders' and beekeepers' perspectives has remained elusive. This study aims to bridge this gap by assessing the extent to which stakeholders involved in the European beekeeping sector and European beekeepers perceive and experience the impacts of climate change on their operations, and whether they had to adapt their practices accordingly. To this end, a mixed-methods study including in-depth stakeholder interviews (n = 41) and a pan-European beekeeper survey (n = 844) was completed within the frame of the EU-funded H2020-project B-GOOD. The development of the beekeeper survey was informed by insights from literature and the stakeholder interviews. The results highlighted significant regional disparities in the perceived impacts of climate change, with beekeepers in Southern European regions expressing more negative outlooks, while Northern European beekeepers reported more favourable experiences. Furthermore, survey analysis revealed beekeepers who were classified as 'heavily impacted' by climate change. These beekeepers reported lower average honey yields, higher colony winter loss rates and a stronger perceived contribution of honey bees to pollination and biodiversity, underscoring climate change's detrimental impacts on the beekeeping sector. Multinomial logistic regression revealed determinants of the likelihood of beekeepers being classified as 'heavily impacted' by climate change. This analysis indicates that Southern European beekeepers experienced a 10-fold likelihood of being classified as heavily impacted by climate change compared to Northern European beekeepers. Other significant factors distinguishing 'winners' and 'losers' were self-reported level of professionalism as a beekeeper (ranging from pure hobbyist to fully professional, Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.31), number of years active in beekeeping (OR = 1.02), availability of floral resources throughout the bee season (OR = 0.78), beehives located in a forested environment (OR = 1.34), and the presence of local policy measures addressing climate change-related challenges (OR = 0.76).
养蜂业正受到气候变化直接和间接的不利影响。尽管针对这一主题进行了大量研究，但大型研究纳入利益相关者和养蜂人的观点仍然难以实现。本研究旨在通过评估参与欧洲养蜂业的利益相关者和欧洲养蜂人对其业务的气候变化的感知和经验程度，以及他们是否必须相应地调整其做法，来弥补这一差距。为此，在欧盟资助的 H2020 项目 B-GOOD 的框架内，完成了一项包括深入的利益相关者访谈（n=41）和泛欧养蜂人调查（n=844）的混合方法研究。养蜂人调查的发展得到了文献和利益相关者访谈的启示。研究结果突出了气候变化感知影响的显著区域差异，南欧地区的养蜂人表达了更为负面的观点，而北欧养蜂人则报告了更为有利的经验。此外，调查分析显示，养蜂人被归类为受气候变化“严重影响”。这些养蜂人报告的蜂蜜产量较低，蜂群冬季损失率较高，以及他们认为蜜蜂对授粉和生物多样性的贡献更大，突显了气候变化对养蜂业的不利影响。多项逻辑回归揭示了养蜂人被归类为受气候变化“严重影响”的可能性的决定因素。这项分析表明，与北欧养蜂人相比，南欧养蜂人被归类为受气候变化严重影响的可能性是其 10 倍。其他区分“赢家”和“输家”的重要因素是养蜂人自我报告的专业水平（从纯粹的业余爱好到完全专业，优势比（OR）=1.31），养蜂年限（OR=1.02），蜜蜂季节内花卉资源的可用性（OR=0.78），蜂箱位于森林环境中（OR=1.34），以及解决与气候变化相关挑战的地方政策措施的存在（OR=0.76）。
