Tunis. Desertification, fires and impoverishment of the land as a result of natural disasters: bees will be the ones to restore balance. This was revealed by a research conducted by the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Bologna (DIPSA), the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the University of Turin (DISAFA) and the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) within the joint project “Mediterranean CooBEEration”. The project is aimed at supporting beekeeping and its strategic role in the protection of biodiversity, for the improvement of food security, and socio-economic development. “Mediterranean CooBEEration” began in February 2014. In its three years of activity it has involved several Mediterranean countries such as Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Italy. One aspect of the project involved conducting a scientific experiment carried out in Italy and Tunisia, with the aim to evaluate the European honey bee’s role in the pollination of wild species, especially in degraded areas (wildfire-struck areas in Italy and desertification in Tunisia) and, more broadly, for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. (9Colonne)
