Why Conserve

This is a classic example of putting your money where you mouth is. Studies have shown that proximity to forestry increases the honey yield.The study done by Susan sand and her research team tested the following ,biochemical properties of honey samples; moisture levels, sugar content, acid properties, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), proline and diastase. These biochemical properties are routinely checked internationally to reveal the quality of honey before appropriate packaging for sale because they determine its desirability for various groups of consumers and thus its pricing. Aspects of honey quality, such as sugar composition, acidity, taste and odour are influenced by the nectar source (Oddo and Bogdanov, 2004). Apart from nectar, the quality of honey is also determined by pollen types and other plant materials (and the volatiles in them) that bees collect and incorporate into the honey (Crane and Walker, 1984). Therefore, the availability of flowering plant species and species with extra-floral nectaries as forage resources contributes to honey quality.

Over the past decade, more than 13 million ha of tropical forest was cleared every year, and the largest proportion of this is the tropical dry forest type ( [Mooney et al., 1995] and [Bawa et al., 2009]). Covering 42,000 ha, Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF) is one of the largest remaining protected fragments of a coastal dry forest mosaic in East Africa that once stretched from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique. It is a Key Biodiversity Area (Eken et al., 2004), within the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Biodiversity Hotspot, one of 34 such hotspots that are considered as priority areas for conservation among the world’s natural resources ( [Myers et al., 2000] and [31]). Arabuko is home to 19 IUCN Red Listed species (6 birds, 5 mammals, and 8 plants) (CEPF, 2005). This unique concentration of threatened species is probably due to long isolation and a markedly variable habitat (Burgess et al., 1998).

The main forest can be divided into three vegetation types, depending on the dominant tree species:Brachystegia spiciformis L. woodland, Cynometra webberi L. thicket, and mixed forest (formerly dominated by Afzelia quanzensis L.). There is also a very small strip of mangrove trees detached from the main dry land forest at Mida Creek to the north east. All these vegetation types have been threatened by logging in the past because each has unique types of timber for various construction, carving, furniture, fuel and medicinal purposes (Gordon and Ayiemba, 2003). Agriculture in the forest’s surroundings is unproductive because of poor soils and frequent elephant invasions, thus increasing local reliance on the forest.