At the foot of the monumental apiary of Inzerki, in the south-west of Morocco, silence has replaced the buzzing of bees.
Silence synonymous with an ecological disaster precipitated by the disappearance of the colonies. A phenomenon observed on a national scale caused by an extraordinary drought and climate change, according to experts.
“At this time of year, space is supposed to be filled with the buzz of bees. Today they are dying at a dizzying rate“, deplores beekeeper Brahim Chatoui to AFP, inspecting his swarms under a blazing sun.
As is the family tradition, his 90 hives – he lost 40 in less than two months – are placed in the beehouse of Inzerki, in the heart of the argan tree biosphere reserve, one of the richest in the country.
“Other families have simply decided to give up beekeeping for lack of means.“, testifies Mr. Chatoui.
Considered as “the oldest and largest traditional collective apiary in the world“, according to specialists, this site dating from 1850 is not the only one hit by the mortality of Hymenoptera.
Other Moroccan regions are affected. “The losses are considerable in the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region (center) alone, they are estimated at 100,000 hives since August“, alarmed Mohamed Choudani, of the Union of Moroccan Beekeepers (UAM).
The country had 910,000 hives operated by 36,000 beekeepers recorded in 2019 against just under 570,000 in 2009, according to official statistics.
“Unprecedented phenomenon”
This year, the extent of the disappearance of bees is such that the government has released aid to beekeepers of 130 million dirhams (more than 12 million euros) — “still not deployed“, according to Mr. Choudani — and launched an extensive investigation into the disaster.
“This desertion of hives is an unprecedented phenomenon in Morocco“, notes the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA), in charge of the investigation, which attributes to climate change the “colony collapse syndrome“. ONSSA excludes the disease hypothesis.
The bee science researcher, Antonin Adam, favors him as an explanation for the worst drought in 40 years to hit this North African country.
Besides, “drought can now be amplified by the vulnerability of bees to diseases, transhumance, intensive agricultural practices but also the country’s desire to increase its honey production“, analyzes the scientist who has studied the beekeeping environment in the south-west of Morocco.
Honey production has jumped 69% in 10 years, from 4.7 tonnes in 2009 to nearly 8 tonnes in 2019, with more than one billion dirhams (101 million euros) in turnover, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
For beekeeper Brahim Chatoui, “drought is a normal cycle. It is its intensity that is worrying today“.
Heritage under threat
In Inzerki, the disaster is twofold: ecological but also heritage.
From a distance, the apiary is striking for its structure, which is both simple and complex, built of earth and wood on five levels divided into compartments of equal size. Inside the huts are arranged cylindrical hives made of woven reeds wrapped in earth mixed with cow dung.
But it is enough to approach to see the extent of the dilapidation. Parts of the bee – recently listed as national heritage – are collapsing, raising fears of the worst.
For Hassan Benalayat, a researcher in human geography, the degradation of the apiary is the consequence of several upheavals in the region, in particular the modernization of the beekeeping sector and the rural exodus, but also global warming.
In the past, 80 families deposited their bees there, today there are only about twenty. “It is urgent to bring this exceptional heritage to life“, pleads Mr. Benalayat.
“The situation is critical but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up“, assures Mr. Chatoui who has created with other villagers an association to protect the apiary.
They fought to include it in the heritage of Morocco. They planted aromatic herbs, in order to resist the aridity of the soil, and are now striving to rehabilitate the apiary.
“The objective is not honey but above all that the apiary is preserved and that my bees survive while waiting for better days.“, hopes the beekeeper.