Stingless bees from the Amazon granted legal rights in world first

"Stingless bees from the Amazon have become the first insects to be granted legal rights anywhere in the world, in a breakthrough supporters hope will be a catalyst for similar moves to protect bees elsewhere. It means that across a broad swathe of the Peruvian Amazon, the rainforest's long-overlooked native bees which, unlike their cousins the European honeybees, have no sting now have the right to exist and to flourish."

"Cultivated by Indigenous peoples since pre-Columbian times, stingless bees are thought to be key rainforest pollinators, sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem health. But they are faced with a deadly confluence of climate change, deforestation and pesticides, as well as competition from European bees, and scientists and campaigners have been racing against time to get stingless bees on international conservation red lists."

"Constanza Prieto, Latin American director at the Earth Law Center, who was part of the campaign, said: This ordinance marks a turning point in our relationship with nature: it makes stingless bees visible, recognises them as rights-bearing subjects, and affirms their essential role in preserving ecosystems. The world-first ordinances, passed in two Peruvian regions in the past few months, follow a campaign of research and advocacy spearheaded by Rosa Vasquez Espinoza, founder of Amazon Research Internacional,"

Peruvian Amazon stingless bees have been legally recognized as rights-bearing entities with the right to exist and flourish across parts of the region. Stingless bees are native, stingless pollinators cultivated by Indigenous peoples since pre-Columbian times and they sustain rainforest biodiversity and ecosystem health. These bees face threats from climate change, deforestation, pesticides and competition from introduced European honeybees. Research and advocacy efforts led by scientists and Indigenous collaborators documented medicinal compounds in stingless bee honey and supported legal ordinances passed in two Peruvian regions. The legal recognition aims to protect populations and accelerate conservation listings and protections.

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