2010 project:

The aim of the project is to launch a taxonomic study on two groups of Hymenoptera insects, bees and sawflies, which both remain poorly studied in Ethiopia. Bees are of prime and worldwide importance because of their role as pollinators in nearly each terrestrial ecosystem, and they are recognized as a top priority group in the ‘Biodiversity Convention’ (The Sao Paulo Declaration on Pollinators, from 1999). Sawfly larvae are phytophagous and some species are significant crop pests as well as of interest in a chemo-ecological perspective.

During the present project, institutional contacts will be established to determine, together with those Ethiopian actors concerned by biodiversity conservation, their specific needs in terms of taxonomic material and knowledge related to their local hymenopteran fauna. J.L. Boevé and A. Pauly therefore seek, especially, a partnership with the Zoological Natural History Museum (ZNHM) in Addis Ababa. They will also establish an insect collection framework, in that one or a few Ethiopian scientist(s) would perform field collections of the two target taxa during a few months, ideally in more or less natural biotopes (i.e. neighbourhood of Addis Ababa versus National Parks and conservation areas).

The gathered results will lead, among other outputs, to an informative website. More significantly, they will constitute a stable basis for a second project, by identifying and establishing strong collaborative links between Ethiopian institutions and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), the parties being solely interested in such non-commercial biodiversity research.

2011 project:

Following the first ‘GTI Ethiopia’ project (2010), the aim of the present one is to continue the approach of studying the taxonomy and biodiversity of the two groups of Hymenoptera insects, bees and sawflies. The main objective is, for the two experts, to perform a visit that will be mainly devoted to the further collection of insects, by prospecting four Ethiopian ecosystems/zones, among which three conservation areas. Among the four scientists trained last year, one or two of them will attend these fieldtrips.

2012 project:

Following the two first projects (2010 and 2011), the aim of the present one is to continue and to finalize the study of the taxonomy and biodiversity of the two groups of Hymenoptera insects, bees and sawflies. The two experts will perform a visit to Ethiopia.

The two main objectives are:

1. to complete training of Ethiopian scientists, by the collection of Hymenoptera in Southern Ethiopia (Arba Minch area and Great Rift Valley), and
2. to organize an ‘Overview Meeting’ (at the Holeta Bee Research Centre). Among the scientists already trained, two will attend the fieldtrip, and in the frame of the meeting, a general overview of the three GTI projects will be presented.

The exit strategy consists of several important scientific publications as well as a freely available PDF document where all wild bee species, collected in Ethiopia during the three GTI projects, will be illustrated and accompanied by other datasets.