Rights for Stingless Bees

Bee:wild, in partnership with Avaaz and NatGeo Explorer Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, is calling on the Peruvian government to recognize the Rights of Nature for stingless bees — granting them legal protection for the first time in history.

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Bees older than time

Before honeybees ever buzzed across the planet, stingless bees were already tending the world’s first flowers. Their lineage stretches back 80 million years — a living thread connecting us to the age of dinosaurs.

Today, stingless bees are indispensable pollinators in tropical ecosystems worldwide. They help countless plants – from rainforest trees to food crops – reproduce and set seed, which maintains biodiversity and supports entire food webs.

Yet these ancient pollinators are vanishing, their forests cleared, their hives destroyed, their future uncertain.

Make your voice heard.

We're asking lawmakers in Peru to grant legal rights to stingless bees. A Rights of Nature Declaration can protect these precious pollinators, and inspire the world.

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For millions of years, stingless bees have shaped the Amazon. Today, their world is under threat.

  • Vanishing Homes

    Deforestation and land conversion destroy entire colonies, leaving 1 in 3 colonies at risk.

  • Silent Poison

    Pesticides and chemical runoff weaken hives and disrupt pollination, threatening the Amazon’s delicate balance.

  • Unsustainable Harvests

    Over-harvesting honey reduces hive survival, preventing colonies from thriving and regenerating their ecosystems.

Now, Peru is discussing legal rights for these precious pollinators.

This move could unlock forest protection, a crackdown on pesticide use, and inspire other countries to follow suit.

If passed, this would be the first declaration of its kind for any insect — and a model for pollinator protection around the world.

  • Right to Exist

    Every stingless bee has the inherent right to live and flourish as a sentient being. Recognizing this right affirms that these ancient pollinators are not merely resources—they are vital members of the Amazon’s living community.

  • Right to Thrive

    Stingless bees deserve forests free from pesticides, deforestation, and other human-made threats. Protecting their habitat ensures they can continue their essential role in sustaining the rainforest’s unique biodiversity.

  • Right to Regenerate

    For millions of years, stingless bees have helped rejuvenate ecosystems, pollinating native plants and supporting life cycles across the Amazon. This right safeguards their ability to carry on these ancient, life-giving patterns for generations to come.

Protecting stingless bees means protecting the cultural and ecological soul of the Amazon.

Non-native honeybees already enjoy legal protections in Peru because of their economic value. But the native stingless bees — the true heart of the Amazon — remain unprotected.

For centuries, Indigenous communities have honored them as sacred beings — using their honey and wax as medicine, nourishment, and in spiritual ceremonies.

Experts estimate that stingless bees pollinate 80% or more of wild plants in the Amazon rainforest, sustaining the incredible biodiversity that gives life to the region.

Led by science, guided by tradition

Bee:wild is proud to be partnering with Avaaz and one of our most valued ambassadors Rosa Vásquez Espinoza - a Peruvian-born chemical biologist, author, and NatGeo Explorer - on this global petition. Joining Rosa on this mission is Apu Cesar Ramos of the Ashaninka Indigenous groups EcoAshaninka and Reserva Comunal Ashaninka, Amazon Research Internacional, and Constanza Prieto Figelist of Earth Law Center.

Together, they are uniting modern science with Indigenous wisdom to ensure the stingless bees of the Amazon can continue their ancient work — pollinating life itself.

Photo by Ana Elisa Sotelo for National Geographic.
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Join the movement.

Right now, Indigenous leaders and scientists are pushing Peruvian lawmakers to approve this game-changing decision.

The country has granted legal rights to nature before, so there's a precedent. Local leaders are on board, as are celebs… and our community can add a swarm of global people power to create a massive buzz.

Sign now, before we take this call to Congress – and share with every pollinator friend you know.
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A first for bees, a future for the planet.

If Peru recognizes the Rights of Nature for stingless bees, it will ignite a global shift — showing that insects, too, deserve protection as vital members of our living planet. From sea turtles and great apes to sharks and monkeys, other species have already gained similar recognition. Now it’s time to extend that respect to the pollinators who sustain us all.

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