Kuralbay Nugmanov， an entrepreneur and farmer in Karakalpakstan， north of Uzbekistan， says his community is much better off since they installed bee hives. “This year we got much better fruits and vegetables， as compared to last year. We believe that this is thanks to our bees，” he says.

In Karakalpakstan， the Aral Sea disaster left many residents without an income. When the Sea started drying up， so did the fishermen and farmers’ jobs. Unemployment was high in the region， forcing many to relocate.

Launched in 2012， the joint UN Aral Sea Programme， carried out by UNDP with other UN agencies and government partners， seeks to create new income opportunities for rural communities affected by this man-made environmental crisis.

With a minimal cost for registration， beekeeping is relatively inexpensive to establish and results in a product that is always in demand.

“The bees can be both a main and an additional income source for families. Having access to naturally-produced honey is a great motivation，” Nugmanov says.

One of the first entrepreneurs to establish a beekeeping enterprise in his district， Nugmanov attended a UNDP-supported seminar where he learned how to run a sustainable business， and received bee hives to get a demonstration plot started.

“When I started I had 5 bee hives with necessary equipment， now I’m confident I can expand my business to up to 20- 30 hives in the coming year，” he says. With his savings， he plans to replace his older house with a new one， and pay for his children’s tuition. Honey also serves as an important dietary supplement for his family.

With support from the Programme and the Government of Uzbekistan， 48 beekeeping demonstration plots like Nugmanov’s have been established in the Amudarya district， and more than 210 bee hives delivered to budding entrepreneurs. Each business brings an estimated income of up to US $935 each year.

The project also aims to create a network of agro-consultants to promote improved agricultural practices among rural populations.

“Many local farmers are interested in starting this type of business， after they see the results of my work，” says Nugmanov， who personally organised 11 workshops and seminars with neighbouring farms.

“Beekeeping has small challenges， but it is manageable and pays off in the end. I am always ready to share my knowledge with anyone who wants to run a bee-keeping business. I’m also a member of an association of bee-keepers， through which I can exchange information and knowledge with others，” he says.

Over 50 percent of the local farmers trained by Nugmanov， half of them women， have gone on to establish either exclusive bee-keeping enterprises， or have supplemented their farms with honey-bees.

The UN Aral Sea Programme helps address the economic， health and food needs of more than 130，000 people directly affected by the environmental crisis， while other community development plans， such as the provision of basic infrastructure， improved social services and healthcare， benefit almost 500，000 people indirectly.

Kuralbay Nugmanov是北烏茲別克斯坦卡拉卡爾帕克斯坦的一名企業(yè)家和農(nóng)民，他說他的社區(qū)更富裕，因?yàn)樗麄儼惭b了蜂巢。他說：“今年我們得到了比去年更好的水果和蔬菜。我們相信這是由于我們的蜜蜂?！痹诳ɡ柵量怂固?，咸海的生態(tài)災(zāi)害使得許多居民沒有收入。該地區(qū)失業(yè)率很高。2012年由聯(lián)合國(guó)開發(fā)計(jì)劃署和其他聯(lián)合國(guó)機(jī)構(gòu)以及政府伙伴開展的聯(lián)合國(guó)咸海計(jì)劃，目標(biāo)是為遭受人為環(huán)境危機(jī)影響的農(nóng)村社區(qū)創(chuàng)造新收入。Nugmanov在一個(gè)聯(lián)合國(guó)開發(fā)計(jì)劃署支持的研討會(huì)中學(xué)到了如何可持續(xù)地開展養(yǎng)蜂業(yè)務(wù)，并得到了初始階段需要的蜂巢。阿姆河區(qū)域現(xiàn)已有48個(gè)示范小區(qū)和210多個(gè)蜂巢。每項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)每年帶來高達(dá)935美元的收入。養(yǎng)蜂風(fēng)險(xiǎn)小，易操作，有回報(bào)，很多當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民對(duì)這一業(yè)務(wù)很感興趣。當(dāng)?shù)匾话氲霓r(nóng)民都接受了Nugmanov的培訓(xùn)，其中一半是婦女，她們正在考慮是建立專門的養(yǎng)蜂企業(yè)還是靠養(yǎng)蜜蜂來補(bǔ)充農(nóng)業(yè)收入。聯(lián)合國(guó)咸海計(jì)劃幫13萬以上受環(huán)境危機(jī)影響的人民滿足了經(jīng)濟(jì)、健康、食物方面需求以及其他社區(qū)發(fā)展計(jì)劃，比如提升基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)等，間接造福了50萬人。

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