Trees and plants for bees and beekeepers in the Upper Mara Basin Guide to useful melliferous trees and crops for beekeepers December 2017 Contents Who is this guide for? .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction to the MaMaSe Project .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Market driven forest conservation initiatives in the Upper Mara basin ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Water, apiculture, forests, trees and livelihoods ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Types of bees ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 How this guide was developed ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Using this guide ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Which plants? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Altitude ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Forage calendar .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Trees and plants for bees .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Indigenous plants ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Exotics, agroforestry trees and crops ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Photo identification of bee-loving plants ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Bee hating plants ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Useful Contacts ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Beekeeping ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Agroforestry ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Useful websites .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 52 References ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Colophon ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Who is this guide for? This guide provides information for: Beekeepers - to ensure the presence of plants providing nectar and pollen year round and plants useful for beekeeping, such as making and baiting hives, and using in smokers. Farmers – so that they can plant species that will encourage bees and also pollinate their crops. WRUAs and CFAs – to optimize their water basins and community forests for beekeeping and to ensure pollination. Researchers, NGOs and service providers – researching or promoting water-wise agroforestry, agriculture and apiculture. Nursery owners – so they can grow seedlings of interest to beekeepers and farmers. Introduction to the MaMaSe Project The Mau Mara Serengeti Sustainable Water initiative (MaMaSe) aims to improve water safety and security in the Mara River Basin to support structural poverty reduction, sustainable economic growth and conservation of the Basin’s ecosystems. In this four year programme which started in 2014, the people and institutions in the basin have been supported in a process of structural change, promoting water-wise economic development that lifts people out of poverty and sets them on a sustainable path to improved well-being and self-reliance. The Initiative, which is financially supported by the Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, consists of a broad-based public private partnership including international and Kenyan government agencies, civil society, private sector, NGOs, and knowledge institutions. It is led by UNESCO-IHE and executed together with partners including Wageningen University and Research, SNV, WWF Kenya, Mara Farming, Mara River Users Association, Egerton University, Water Resources Management Authority, Deltares, Waterschap Brabantse Delta and ITC Twente. These partners envision a basin where: Capable government institutions develop effective river basin management strategies for inclusive green growth through participatory processes. Water resources are regulated for the benefit of people and ecosystems. Basin residents prosper from economic activities that are financially profitable, environmentally sustainable, and well aligned with the basin water management strategy. Innovative agricultural practices and sustainable tourism facilities are promoted. Key forest and savannah ecosystems are protected or restored and wildlife has access to habitats and water resources needed at different times of the year and especially during drought years. These interconnected public, private, and environmental elements of the basin serve as a model of sustainability for surrounding basins, with transferrable tools and approaches. 1 Market driven forest conservation initiatives in the Upper Mara basin The Mara River ecosystem is among the largest water catchments in Kenya, supporting over 1.4 million people in Kenya and Tanzania. Water resources in the Mara River basin are under continued threat of degradation owing to increased human activities, especially agricultural production, of both crops and livestock, which threaten the sustainability of springs, streams and rivers in the basin. Agriculture can impact water resources by contributing to deforestation as forests are cleared for farmland, and agrochemical residues end up in water bodies. Conservation is a difficult sell to farmers; especially in the upper Mara basin which receives adequate rainfall all year round. The upper Mara River basin is approximately 1500 km2 spanning from Nakuru through Bomet and Narok Counties,