BY ZELIPHA KIROBI
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Dressed in protective clothing and armed with a smoker, Peter Nyongesa walked through the mangroves to monitor his beehives along the Indian Ocean coastline.
The 69-year-old Nyongesa recalled how he would plead unsuccessfully with loggers to spare the mangroves or cut only the mature ones while leaving the younger ones intact.
“But they would retort that the trees do not belong to anyone but God,” he said.
So he has turned to deterring the loggers with bees, hidden in the mangroves and ready to sting.
Their hives now dot a section of coastline in Kenya’s main port city of Mombasa in an effort to deter people who chop mangroves for firewood or home construction. It’s part of a local conservation initiative.
“When people realize that something is beneficial to them, they do not consider the harm that comes with it,” Nyongesa said of
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
