Legislation on meliponiculture in Brazil: social and environmental demand

Abstract

The American stingless bees species have been used in management and breeding practices by local civilizations since the pre-Columbian era. Currently, many of these species are managed commercially and maintained in meliponaries. However, divergences exist among authors about the ecological utility of these practices. Some argue that meliponaries could serve to maintain local biodiversity while others argue that they have the opposite effect. Due to pressure from beekeepers and environmentalists there are efforts to draft specific rules that legislate production and market focusing on conservating native bees. In recent years, these norms have become more specific due to the use of empirical data from the scientific community and demands from social groups and producers. This paper presents a revision on Brazilian legislation as well its applicabilities and proposes alterations in the Environmental Crimes Law.

Urbano e conectado: um perfil do meliponicultor do século XXI

“…Some Brazilian states such as São Paulo, Santa Catarina, among others, already have RTIQ, enabling their beekeepers, in addition to formally marketing their products in the municipality/state, also access the "Arte Seal", created through Law No. 13,680, of June 14, 2018 that allows the interstate marketing of handmade products of animal origin inspected regionally (SÃO PAULO 2017, BRASIL 2018, SANTA CATARINA 2020, REGINATO KOSER et al 2020. The granting of the art seal to stingless bee honey and derived products is regulated through Ordinance No.…”

“…However, many states have not yet established their physical-chemical and sanitary criteria for quality control of meliponine ethos, and there is also no federal RTIQ. Thus, the elaboration of an RTIQ that adequately meets the characteristics of meliponine honeys, according to the species and biome in which it is inserted, becomes necessary for formalization of the commercialization of products of these bees and the opening of new market niches (REGINATO KOSER et al 2020). Despite the great media appeal on pollination and ecosystem service of bees, only 1.6% of beekeepers can rent their colonies for pollination of crops.…”

A review of pollen types foraged by Melipona in the Brazilian Amazon

“…The traditional use, especially for food and medicine, of bee byproducts, including those of Melipona , reveals their historical and sociocultural importance since before the colonization of the tropical region (Pedro 2014). In addition, bee management is essential for agricultural production and for this reason their breeding, known as meliponiculture, has been developed in Brazil in recent decades, including in the Amazon (Koser et al 2020).…”