世界蜜蜂日:牙買加農民讚毛茸茸小夥伴授粉有功

雄性木蜂(Caroebter Bee,學名為Xylocopa mordax)。作為獨居蜂,木蜂會在木材、竹子和類似的硬木結構上挖洞築巢。它們能夠為豆科植物、鼠尾草、西番蓮和辣木授粉。(照片:Vaughan Turland/經許可使用)

原文刊登於2023年5月20日。

2018年5月20日,聯合國首次慶祝世界蜜蜂日(World Bee Day),藉此向大眾介紹這些小巧卻舉足輕重的的授粉媒介物種,使人們認識牠們正在面臨的威脅以及對於永續發展可做出的貢獻。

2023年的世界蜜蜂日重點強調蜜蜂在農作物授粉中扮演的重要角色。根據聯合國糧食與農業組織(UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation,以下簡稱FAO),四分之三的糧食作物至少都部分依賴於授粉媒介來授粉。

為甚麼蜜蜂對農業如此重要?授粉媒介的多樣性對確保糧食安全至關重要。此外,這跟氣候變遷也有很強的關聯性,而它正影響著農業和蜜蜂本身:

你知道嗎授粉媒介有助於降低氣候變化對糧食安全的影響嗎?

如何降低呢?

透過[維持授粉媒介的]多樣性。#WorldBeeDay #SaveTheBeespic.twitter.com/xCYgf58EC4

——聯合國糧食與農業組織(@FAO)May 16, 2023

為了更好地了解蜜蜂的重要性和影響,本文作者以電郵的方式採訪了Dorienne Rowan-Campbell。她來自牙買加,曾是一名記者和發展專家。如今,她是一位種植有機咖啡的農民。由於牙買加是69種蜜蜂的家園,她敏銳地意識到了授粉媒介、氣候變化和人類活動對其作物的影響。

Rowan-Campbell的職業生涯大部分時間都在牙買加和加拿大從事新聞工作。她對國際發展的興趣促使她與安大略電視台(TV Ontario)共同製作了一個13期的系列節目「One World」。後來,她離開了加拿大廣播公司(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,簡稱CBC),並在大英國協秘書處(Commonwealth Secretariat)負責婦女和發展計畫。她還是該計畫的首位女性負責人以大英國協秘書長(Commonwealth Secretary General)的顧問。

1987年,Rowan-Campbell回到牙買加。她開始擔任顧問,處理與婦女、性別、政策、環境和變革管理有關的問題。五年後,由於她的父母都移居到加拿大,她繼承了她父親牙買加狹小且失修的咖啡種植園,開啟建立有機農場的漫長之路。如今,她是牙買加咖啡種植者協會(Jamaica Coffee Growers Association)的副主席。她不僅代表著小型生產者,還將其農場作為對咖啡種植有興趣的農民的培訓基地,特別培訓婦女和年輕人。她也是唯一一個通過美國農業部國家有機計畫(National Organic Program of USDA,簡稱NOP)法規、歐盟EC標準、加拿大有機認證標準(Canada Organic Regime,簡稱COR)和日本農林規格(Japanese Agricultural Standards,簡稱JAS)的牙買加藍山咖啡(Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee)有機生產商。

來自牙買加的有機農民——Dorienne Rowan-Campbell。(照片:Rowan Royale Farms/經許可使用)

Emma Lewis(本文作者,以下简称「EL」): 請介紹您的農場。請問您種植什麼作物?在哪裡種植它們呢?

Dorienne Rowan-Campbell (DRC): My farm is Rowan's Royale. This year will be our 21st year of international organic certification. We are a small, woman-owned, family-managed farm perched 4,000 feet up in the Blue Mountains of West Portland, Jamaica, close to Silver Hill Gap. Our main crop is coffee, but as an organic farm, we grow ginger, turmeric, greens, bananas, plantains, root crops, lemons, mulberries … and we ensure that native grasses and bushes are preserved and wildflowers encouraged. The farm is highly shaded, although we are continually replacing trees that have been downed in hurricanes and storms.

Dorienne Rowan-Campbell(以下簡稱「DRC」):我的農場叫做 Rowan's Royale。今年是我們拿到國際有機認證的第21年。我們是一家規模小、由女性擁有、並且採取家庭式管理的農場。農場位於牙買加藍山西波特蘭區海拔4000英尺處,靠近白銀山峽(Silver Hill Gap)。 我們主要種植咖啡,但作為一個有機農場,我們也種植姜、薑黃、青菜、香蕉、大蕉、塊根作物、檸檬、桑葚…… 此外,我們會確保原生草和灌木的生長不被干擾,並讓野花自由生長。儘管我們還在不斷重植在颶風和狂風暴雨中倒塌的樹木,這個農場依然綠樹成蔭。

EL:蜜蜂在您的農場中扮演著什麼樣的角色?請問您是如何持續吸引蜜蜂為作物授粉的?

DRC: We have so many flowering bushes and trees and wildflowers that bees visit the farm. A study initiated for the Jamaica Coffee Growers Association in 2018 found three types of bees on the farm, not just honey bees. Each year during the coffee flowering season I have hives on the farm from a neighbouring farmer, who is a bee farmer but uses no chemicals in his practice. He tells me the quality of the honey from the bees on the farm is high as the bees have lots of food and [are in] no danger from chemicals. While he reaps the honey, I have large numbers of bees on the farm to help with pollination, particularly of the coffee. My farm manger now has one hive and is learning about beekeeping so next year he will have bees on the farm.

DRC:我們的農場有許多開花的灌木叢和樹木以及野花,足以吸引蜜蜂停駐。2018年,一項為牙買加咖啡種植者協會(Jamaica Coffee Growers Association)發起的研究顯示,在我的農場中共發現了三種蜂,不單單只是蜜蜂(honey bees)。一到每年咖啡樹開花的季節,我都會從一位鄰近的農民那裡得到蜂箱。他是個養蜂人,但他從來不在養蜂時使用化學製品。他告訴我,蜂蜜的品質之所以能夠這麼高,是因為蜜蜂獲得了充足的食物,而且沒有接觸過化學製品。當他採收蜂蜜時,我的農場裡便會出現大量蜜蜂來為作物授粉,特別是咖啡。目前我的農場經理擁有一個蜂箱,並且正在學習養蜂知識。到了明年,他將會在農場裡養蜂。

在加勒比地區,Centris decolorata相當於熊蜂(Bumblebee)。它們通常生活在具有北方氣候的地方。這種體型肥碩的蜜蜂會為大型的熱帶花卉授粉。(照片:Vaughan Turland/經許可使用)

EL:根據您的經驗,蜜蜂授粉對於牙買加的農業,尤其是對您的農場而言具有甚麼意義呢?

DRC: Bees are efficient pollinators. Although we have birds and other insects that do pollinate, bees are what we welcome most and for the most part, we have taken them for granted. Now that we see fewer bees around on our farms, our pollination is less effective. Without good pollination, you have less production [but] even without having a few hives on the farm, we get lots of bees coming in at flowering times. We see them and hear the hum in the air. We see them on pumpkin blossoms and varieties of squash and greens, as well as on the many trees we have that blossom and attract the bees.

DRC:蜜蜂是非常高效的授粉媒介。儘管鳥類和其他昆蟲也可以協助授粉,我們依然最歡迎蜜蜂的到來。在大部分情況下,我們對蜜蜂授粉已經見慣不慣了。現在,越來越少蜜蜂停駐在我們的農場,使得授粉的效果越來越差。沒了良好的授粉,作物的產量將會減少。但是,即使我們的農場沒有很多蜂箱,蜜蜂依然會在作物開花的季節前來授粉。我們能夠看見牠們且聽見牠們在空中發出嗡嗡的叫聲。蜜蜂還停駐在開花的南瓜花以及各種南瓜和青菜上。農場中許多開花的樹木也吸引了蜜蜂前來

EL:該地區的蜜蜂授粉正在面臨著甚麼威脅呢?要如何才能夠解決這些問題?

DRC: Major threats are the chemicals we apply on our farms, which kill bees. But our general farming practices also affect the bees: clear cutting, and drastic weeding involves much of the wildflowers, bushes and flowering trees, on which a wild bee population thrives. Increasing urbanisation is removing trees and bushes from our cities and towns and replacing grass-covered verges. ‘Upgraded’ highways take in swathes of land where bees used to be able to find pollen. Many of those trees and bushes are never replaced along the highways

DRC:我們在農場中使用的化學製品是蜜蜂面臨的主要威脅,這是會殺死蜜蜂的。而我們普遍採用的耕作方式也對蜜蜂造成很大的影響,例如皆伐與極端的野花、灌木和開花樹木清除計畫,都是在破壞野生蜜蜂種群的棲息地。都市化的加速移除了城鎮中的樹木和灌木叢,覆蓋地面的植被也逐漸被取代。「升級」的高速公路占據了大片從前蜜蜂能夠找到花粉的土地。更甚者,高速公路建成後,許多沿線被砍伐的樹木和灌木叢並沒有被重植。

牙買加蘭花蜂(Jamaican Orchid Bee,學名為Euglossa jamaicensis)是牙買加的特有品種。它們並不是「善於交際」的蜜蜂。雄性的牙買加蘭花蜂會從它們授粉的花卉中採集花蜜,作為製造香水的材料。(照片:Vaughan Turland/經許可使用)

EL:甚麼品種的蜜蜂會為農作物授粉呢?雖然蜜蜂(honey bees)很常見,但許多野生蜜蜂和獨居蜂都瀕臨絕種。請問您見過哪些品種的蜜蜂?

DRC: I know we get wild and solitary bees on the farm, but I have no expert knowledge of exactly what they are. We just welcome them and leave as much food for them as possible, which is why they come.

DRC:據我所知,我們的農場裡有野生蜜蜂和獨居蜂。但我沒有足夠的專業知識,因此我不確定牠們屬於甚麼品種。我們非常歡迎蜜蜂停駐在我們的農場為作物授粉,同時也準備了足夠的食物供它們食用。這也是為甚麼蜜蜂會前來我們的農場的原因吧。

EL:氣候變化嚴重影響了您在2018年從事的咖啡種植項目,其具體表現在無法預測的咖啡樹花期。長期的乾旱使得咖啡樹生長越發困難,比平時更長的雨季也造成各種問題。可以請您告訴我更多有關這個項目的詳情嗎?還有氣候危機是如何影響農業和蜜蜂呢?

DRC: Yes, the flowering periods are far less predictable. The initial work on the project meant that it was nigh impossible for the researchers to map out when to be in certain areas and how to get there when flowering started. The roads are poor, four-wheel drives were needed, and the funds simply could not cover the increasing transport costs. However, they found some areas with very few bees. Climate change also affects the quality of the flowering. Research in other countries has indicated that a rise in temperature causes deformities in the blossoms themselves, as well as fewer blossoms.

DRC:是的,咖啡樹的花期變得越來越難以預測。當這個計畫剛開始進行且處於初始工作階段時,研究者幾乎無法確定甚麼時候應該進入咖啡種植園的特定區域,以及如何在花期時抵達那裡。因為那裡的道路建設很糟糕,只有四輪驅動車才能開進去,而且現有資金根本無法負擔日益增加的交通成本。然而,他們依舊找到了一些有著非常少蜜蜂的區域。話說回來,氣候變化確實影響了咖啡樹開花的質量。已經有其他國家的研究表明,氣溫上升會導致開出的花朵變形,或者說導致更少花朵開花。

條紋油蜂(又稱Striped Oil-Digger,學名為Centris fasciata)是一種在牙買加發現的野生蜜蜂。它也可能在大安地列斯群島的其他地區生存。(照片:Vaughan Turland/經許可使用)

EL:有機農業在加勒比地區貌似還屬於小眾活動。您如何看待它的作用和價值?您認為這項產業可以被擴大嗎?政府的干預對它來說是不是必要的?

DRC: Agriculture in Jamaica is driven by the chemical companies. Note the offers of [webinar] training from two local companies almost every week. [One] even offered something on ‘organic production,’ but it was clear they were not knowledgeable about organic farming. They mostly read from the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM) handbook and then promoted their ‘organic’ products.

If we are going to survive in agriculture and manage climate crises, we need to move to sustainable practices; organic practices are the foundation of these. People don't need to get certified. They need to understand that — as the FAO points out — organically managed soils can adapt to flooding and drought. Several years ago, [after] extended drought and fires on coffee plantations, most farmers lost the seedlings they had planted out. My farm lost three — we are rain-fed and had no rain from the end of June into August.

Successive governments have said they espouse organic production, but there has been no policy developed, although this ‘work’ has been in process since 2004! Any action has been from NGOs and private sector farmers … but this is not sustainable. A JOAM team developed the standard for the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica (BSJ) and for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). However, instead of encouraging its use, a hefty fee for a copy of the standard (approximately JMD 9,277 or USD 60) is charged by the BSJ. Also, no action is taken when products are labelled ‘organic’ without requisite third party verification. So farmers ask why should they pay for certification when the certification is not protected? The National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) now offers certification, but no one is sure of their rates and the process is drawn out.

The Jamaican government needs to establish a competent authority for organic agriculture, a policy and more training for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

DRC:牙買加的農業活動是由化學公司負責的。幾乎每個星期都會有兩家本地公司以網路研討會的形式提供培訓。其中一家甚至提供了有關「有機生產、的培訓。但很顯然地,他們對有機農業並不了解,沒有專業知識。大部分的他們都通過閱讀牙買加有機農業組織(Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement,以下簡稱JOAM)的手冊來推廣他們的「有機」產品。

如果我們要靠農業生存下去,並且克服氣候危機,我們需要轉向永續的實踐;而有機實踐則是它的基礎。人們不需要獲得認證。正如FAO指出的那樣,他們需要明白有機管理的土地是能夠適應水患和乾旱的。多年前,在咖啡種植園面臨長期的旱災和大火肆虐後,許多農民失去了他們種下的幼苗。我的農場也遭受損失。因為我們的農作物是靠雨水灌溉的,而從6月底開始至8月都沒有下過雨。

歷屆政府曾表明他們支持有機生產,然而卻遲遲沒有制定相關的政策,儘管這個計畫自2004年以來就一直在進行中!只有非政府組織(NGOs)和私人領域的農民對此採取過行動,但不是持續性的。一個JOAM小組曾制定標準,並將其計畫提交給牙買加標準局(Bureau of Standards of Jamaica,以下簡稱BSJ)和加勒比共同體(Caribbean Community,簡稱CARICOM)。然而,BSJ非但沒有鼓勵使用該標準,反而對該標準的副本收取高昂的費用(大約9,277牙買加元或60美元)。此外,對於缺乏第三方認證的有機產品,有關單位也沒有採取任何行動。所以,在該認證根本沒有受到保護的情況下,農民紛紛質疑他們需要為該認證付費的理由。目前,牙買加國家認證機構(National Certification Body of Jamaica,簡稱NCBJ)能夠為有機產品提供認證,但卻弊端重重。認證的手續十分漫長,而且沒有人能夠確保其收費合理。

牙買加政府所需要的,是建立一個專業的有機農業機構,制定合理的政策,以及提供農業部農村農業發展機構(Rural Agricultural Development Authority,簡稱RADA)更多培訓。

有機農業的實踐和世界蜜蜂日所要傳遞的訊息是一致的。不止是蜜蜂,所有授粉媒介都需要一個良好的農業環境,使牠們能夠在大自然中發揮其作用,為長期的永續發展做出貢獻。

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