BEIRUT, July 27 (Xinhua) -- When veteran beekeeper Talal Faour lifted the lid of one of his scorched beehives, he searched for any sign of life. Instead, he found only melted beeswax and charred wooden frames.
Standing among blackened hive boxes scattered across dry grass near the southern Lebanese village of Marj al-Zohour, Faour surveyed what had once been a thriving apiary buzzing with thousands of bees and providing his family's main source of income.
"These hives were not just wooden boxes. They represented years of hard work and were my livelihood," Faour told Xinhua. "We lost the bees, the honey and the entire season. The hardest part is that we still cannot reach many of the apiaries to save what remains."
Faour's experience mirrors that of hundreds of beekeepers across southern Lebanon, where the beekeeping sector has become one of the agricultural industries hardest hit by the conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border since October 2023.
Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and the fires they ignited destroyed thousands of beehives, while ongoing insecurity prevented many beekeepers from accessing their apiaries in border villages.
According to World Bank estimates, thousands of beehives across Lebanon were damaged between October 2023 and December 2024. However, people in the sector say the true extent of the losses is likely far greater, as many affected areas remain inaccessible.
Mohammad Hassan, a board member of the South Farmers Association, said the war claimed not only hives and equipment but also the lives of beekeepers.
"Eighty-four beekeepers from southern Lebanon were killed during the war," Hassan told Xinhua, noting that some were specialists in breeding queen bees and improving bee strains, expertise that takes years to develop.
He said heavy losses were reported in Majidieh, Shebaa, Kfarchouba, Majdal Zoun, Aitaroun, Naqoura, Bint Jbeil, Deir al-Zahrani, Chehour and Sarafand, adding that several beekeepers came under attack while attempting to reach their apiaries or care for their colonies.
Mohammad Saleh, president of the South Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, said the war had brought the region's beekeeping sector close to a standstill.
Beyond the economic losses, the damage to Lebanon's beekeeping sector has also brought more serious environmental consequences.
"The damage was not limited to the hives themselves. The surrounding environment was also devastated," Saleh told Xinhua. "Many areas have lost part of their wildlife. Bees are no longer as abundant as they once were, while birds, animals and farms have all suffered because of the shelling and fires."
Saleh said the chamber had secured external support to distribute thousands of beekeeping supply packages to affected beekeepers, but stressed that the assistance remained insufficient given the scale of the destruction.
Environmental expert Jalal Hassoun warned that the decline in bee populations threatens entire ecosystems, because bees play an indispensable role in pollinating crops and wild plants.
Kamal Khair, a university lecturer and environmental sciences expert, said bees are essential to maintaining ecological balance, and any decline in their numbers directly affects agriculture and biodiversity.
"The war, wildfires and climate change have created multiple pressures on bee populations," Khair said. "Higher temperatures, reduced rainfall and disrupted flowering seasons have all diminished the natural food sources available to bees."
For Lebanese Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani, the plight of the beekeeping sector is just one example of the wider war damage inflicted on Lebanon's agriculture.
The war dealt a severe blow to both the beekeeping and wider agricultural sectors, he told Xinhua, adding that about 22.5 percent of the country's agricultural land had been affected, while total losses exceeded 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Hani noted that the ministry is supporting farmers and beekeepers returning to their land by helping clear damaged areas and rehabilitate agricultural infrastructure and production facilities.
Yet the intermittent echoes of shelling in southern Lebanon keep reminding people that the war is not over and that a return to normalcy remains a distant hope.
At another apiary in southern Lebanon, Jamil Badawi stood silently, staring at the ruins of his once-thriving beehives.
Having spent more than 41 years working with bees, Badawi saw the war wipe out his decades of savings.
"Beekeeping is not a hobby for me. It is my only livelihood," Badawi said. "Losing the hives means losing decades of work and my hopes for the future." ■
