Amazon’s stingless bees become the first insect to be granted legal rights: What does it mean?

Amazonian stingless bees have become the first insect in the world to be granted legal rights, after two municipalities — Satipo and Nauta — in Peru passed an ordinance earlier this month.

The move is expected to help conserve stingless bees, which are the oldest bee species on the planet. In recent years, the insect has been facing threats from climate change, forest fires, and deforestation.

Here is a look at these stingless bees, their significance, and how granting them legal rights can help conservation efforts.

What are stingless bees? Why are they significant?

Stingless bees, as their name suggests, are a class of bees which either do not have stingers or have stingers that cannot cause much pain. They are found in tropical regions across the world, and about half of the 500 known species live in the Amazon. In Peru alone, there are more than 170 species.

These bees have been sustaining tropical forests around the world for about 80 million years, since the time of the dinosaurs, by being a valuable pollinator. In Amazon, for instance, they have been pollinating more than 80% of the flora, including crops like cacao, coffee and avocados.

Stingless bees are also an essential part of the culture of Indigenous Asháninka and Kukama-Kukamiria peoples. Apu Cesar Ramos, president of EcoAshaninka of the Ashaninka Communal Reserve, told The Guardian, “Within the stingless bee lives Indigenous traditional knowledge, passed down since the time of our grandparents… The stingless bee has existed since time immemorial and reflects our coexistence with the rainforest.”

For instance, Asháninka use the honey of stingless bees as a medicine to treat different types of illnesses. Recent studies have revealed that their honey has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties. Note that the honey of stingless bees is quite different from the honey that one can buy in stores. It is not gooey and has a high water content. It tastes sweet and sour.

What kind of threats do stingless bees face in the Amazon?

In the Amazon, the biggest threat to these bees and other species is deforestation. Illegal logging, agriculture, and cattle grazing are among the key drivers of deforestation in the region. This has led to the disappearance of the habitats of stingless bees.

Also, in recent years, there has been a rise in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in the Amazon. This has also contributed to the devastation of the bees’ habitats.

Another issue is that soaring temperatures in the region have forced stingless bees to migrate to higher elevations, away from the communities that depend on them for honey.

Vásquez Espinoza, founder of Amazon Research Internacional, told the Guardian that it had become more difficult to find these bees. She said, “We were talking actively with the different community members and the first things they were saying, which they still do to this day, is: ‘I cannot see my bees any more. It used to take me 30 minutes walking into the jungle to find them. And now it takes me hours.’”

What does the new law mean for stingless bees?

The move to pass the ordinance, which granted legal rights to the insect, has come after the national government of Peru passed a law in 2024, recognising stingless bees as native to the country. This was a crucial step, as under Peruvian law, native species have to be protected.

The ordinance is an attempt to further strengthen the 2024 law by recognising the inherent rights of stingless bees. These rights include their right to exist, to maintain healthy populations, to restore their habitats, and to live in a pollution-free environment, etc.

A report by Living on Earth, an environmental news program by US-based Public Radio Exchange, said, “This new declaration actually was developed in collaboration with Asháninka leaders and community members. It also mentions that the indigenous people’s rights are inextricably connected with those of the stingless bees. They acknowledge that the indigenous people’s culture, their spiritual beliefs, are very much intertwined with the well-being of the stingless bees.”

While the ordinance has been passed by just two municipalities, significant efforts are being made to enact it as a national law.