The Economic Value of the Ecosystem Services of Beekeeping in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Beekeeping is an important part of the bioeconomy. Throughout its existence, it has been one of the fields of human endeavour that contributes to sustainability. It has significant benefits for society, both economically and environmentally. Most (90%) of honeybees’ benefit to humankind lies in their pollination capacity, and only 10% lies in bee products (honey, propolis, wax, etc.). The research presented was carried out in the conditions of the Czech Republic in the first half of 2020 through a questionnaire survey within a Google Form, which was aimed at beekeepers. The aim of this paper is, based on a questionnaire survey, to evaluate ecosystem services of beekeeping from the perspective of beekeepers, including the valuation of selected types of ecosystem services. The results show that in the Czech Republic, the most common reason for beekeeping is as a hobby (34.18%). As expected, the demand for pollination is very low compared to other countries (11.6%). From the point of view of the benefits of ecosystem services, the questionnaire survey showed that the most important benefit is the pollination of cultivated and other plants (54.7%) and honeybee products (24.8%). The value of all selected ecosystem services totals 3,646,368 CZK. The results show that state support is needed, which should address the negative demographic development of beekeepers and thus ensure the production of ecosystem services.