The beekeeping activity in Romania benefits from an exceptional melliferous base and favorable climatic conditions, especially for Apis Melifera Carpatica species adapted for millennia to the specific Romanian conditions. Beekeeping is a beneficial activity for beekeepers who either supplement their income, whether it is the main or sole source of income, as well as for agriculture, society, and the environment. After 1989, during the transition period to the market economy, beekeeping experienced a severe decline, but the good organization experience in the Association of Beekeepers in Romania dating from 1958 and the relatively large share of the private sector before 1989 made the transition period much diminished compared to other sectors of the economy, and to experience continuous development. The quantitative and qualitative indicators that have been analyzed highlight the main economic, social, and environmental effects of apiculture practices in Romania.
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This chapter focuses mainly on the authors’ active vision concerning the social, economic and environmental impact of ecological beekeeping on both the environment and human life, with a particular interest on Romania’s situation, making however numerous comparisons with international trends and evolutions in terms of beekeeping business and activity, as well as bee honey consumption. First of all, it should be mentioned that the work is structured as follows: the background section emphasizes the role and the importance of beekeeping worldwide as well as the main literature review studies which are related to the authors’ filed of interest; in addition, the research contains methods of evaluation and measurement of the economic, environmental and social performances of apiculture in the context of sustainable development, which in turn stress aspects, such as the importance of the harmonious development – a desideratum of the present age, the necessity of presenting and focusing on the indicators of sustainable development for Romania with impact on beekeeping, and also the necessity of discovering and strengthening all the relevant indicators for measuring social, economic and environmental impacts in beekeeping; moreover, the work is keen on analyzing and discovering the aspects related to Romania’s apiculture sector, with its present and perspectives, having in mind the Romanian beekeeping – opportunities and threats; furthermore, the study aims to reflect upon the indicators which show the economic impact of beekeeping in Romania, with a direct reference on both the indicators reflecting the environmental impact of apiculture activity in Romania and the synergistically impact on economic, social and environmental of attraction and use of grants; at the end of this work the authors present some important and relevant future research directions as well as numerous important conclusion which come to strengthen the importance of this subject as well as the economic, environmental and social that the beekeeping business and activity, as well as bee honey consumption opportunities and advantages.
The paper has specific objectives that come to emphasize the beekeeping business and activity, as well as bee honey consumption opportunities and advantages and to stress the necessity of understanding and encouraging the beekeeping business and activity, as well as bee honey consumption, in terms of financial, economic, social, demographical, and ecological benefits for both the humanity and environment. In this context, the first objective is to show the historical, archaeological, folkloric data revealed by the works of many authors that come to attest the fact that the Romanian territory has offered favorable conditions for bee breeding since ancient times as well as the millenary continuity of this occupation and also the significant honey resources of the Romanian territory, as well as favorable natural conditions, are essential factors for the development of apiculture regardless of the period. In addition, the second objective is to present the methods of evaluation and measurement of the economic, environmental and social performances of apiculture in the context of sustainable development, which come to stress the importance of harmonious development - a desideratum of the present age, the indicators of sustainable development for Romania with impact on beekeeping, and the relevant indicators for measuring social, economic and environmental impacts in beekeeping. Moreover, the third objective is to show the apiculture from Romania in terms of its present and perspectives, focusing on aspects such as the Romanian beekeeping - opportunities and threats, the indicators which reflect the economic impact of beekeeping in Romania. Furthermore, in terms of the indicators which reflect the economic impact of beekeeping in Romania, the fourth objective of the paper is to discover and present the indicators reflecting the social impact of apiculture in Romania, and the indicators reflecting the environmental impact of apiculture activity in Romania.
In this complex and new context, the study considers several questions as being extremely relevant for the authors’ research process, such as: