Socio-economic aspects of beekeeping in romania

Abstract

The evaluation of the beekeeping activity from the perspective of social sciences needs the integration of specialist information from various knowledge fields. Biology, economy, agricultural sciences, as well as some border line disciplines, such as climatology or environmental sciences, contribute to the process of presenting and explaining nature and the changes which are associated with the activity of beekeeping. Although the importance of apis mellifera is emphasized in natural sciences, the potential impact of their extinction, and the analyses which include the social dimension generated by the production and the economic exploitation of beekeeping products, are limited. In this article we shall proceed towards the critical evaluations of the approaches to beekeeping, trying to identify the limitations and the internal consistency, and evaluating the level of empirical support sustaining the theory, in order to draft a holistic approach. This procedure is necessary in order to understand the way this activity, which has a long tradition in Romania, can adapt and develop in the context of modernity and its challenges, of climate changes, and of the standards imposed by national and international organizations.