Educación ambiental como estrategia para la conservación de la meliponicultura en la zona urbana de la Amazonía ecuatoriana

Abstract

Stingless beekeeping, a practice focused on managing native meliponine bees, plays a key role in pollination and in safeguarding urban biodiversity, particularly in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Faced with the decline in colonies due to habitat loss and the use of agrochemicals, environmental education emerges as a pathway to strengthen their permanence in urban settings. In line with the central purpose of this research, an educational strategy was developed to promote the conservation of stingless beekeeping in the urban area of Puyo. This process combined the identification of local stakeholders, technical visits to meliponiculturists, colony records, literature review, and outreach activities carried out through an environmental fair and an educational route with high school students. Regarding the study’s findings, the presence of a network of actors committed to protecting native bees was identified, along with a significant increase in participants’ knowledge and a favorable perception of the learning activities related to meliponiculture. Thus, the evidence indicates that environmental education is an effective tool for fostering the conservation of stingless bees in urban environments by promoting awareness, community participation, and coordination among local actors