Honey – the currency of climate change

This news story has just caught our eye. In the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the Caribbean coast, apiarists used to produce 300 kilos of honey with ten beehives. As a result of deforestation and climate change, they now require 50 or more hives to produce that same amount. The UK’s Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) has been providing training and knowledge transfer that has enabled honey production to double. The formula is therefore sum(300/5)x2/300 to which the answer is 40%. In other words, habitat destruction and degradation in Quintana Roo means that there is 60% less honey, even after UK intervention.