The declaration of protection for the Geographical Indication of Melipona Bee Honey in the Mayan region of south-central Quintana Roo has been officially granted.
This designation identifies and protects honey of high biological and cultural complexity, obtained from the nectar and other plant secretions of the regional flora, transformed by stingless bees (primarily Melipona beecheii) through enzymatic and maturation processes within their nest, as published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
Just last February, the government submitted the application to the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) to protect this product as honey produced by stingless bees, primarily Melipona beecheii, known in the Mayan language as xunán kab.
The Secretary of Economic Development, Paul Carrillo de Cáceres, reported that Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa has instructed Quintana Roo to become a leader in this area, noting that they are also in the process of obtaining geographical indications for tzalam wood and the bull shark.
If these designations are granted, the state would become a national leader in the protection of products and species native to its region, the official added.
The geographical area designated for the protection of the melipona bee includes municipalities where meliponiculturists are located along the Mayan corridor of Quintana Roo, primarily Felipe Carrillo Puerto, José María Morelos, and Tulum.
In these areas, the traditional breeding of Melipona beecheii, stingless bees historically managed by Mayan communities, is maintained.
Melipona honey is harvested twice a year from traditional hives known as jobones, made from hollowed-out logs.
This is why their production is small-scale, as a single hive generates, on average, between one and 1.5 liters annually, which has limited the generation of large-scale official statistics in Quintana Roo.
Sixteen of the 46 stingless bee species registered in Mexico have been identified in the state. These bees face threats such as deforestation, the use of insecticides and pesticides, monocultures and genetically modified crops, the destruction of nests, as well as meteorological phenomena such as hurricanes and droughts.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
