The WaterBlog
No stings attached: bee biodiversity in the Amazon
by Pablo Fajardo and Frank van Steenbergen The biodiversity epicenter that is the Amazon is reflected in the almost endless number of species of bees. They play a major role in the cross pollination of the Amazon’s diversity of trees species, with several bee species uniquely specializing in specific trees. Most of the bees in the Amazon belong to families of stingless bees, such as Melipona, Trigona sp, Tetragonisca angustula. The latter are lovingly called angel bees – for all the goodness they bring. The honey of the angel bees is high in nourishment but also very high in anti-inflammatory properties, comparable to the famous Manuka honey from New Zealand that has many medical applications. The medicinal properties of all the different species of Amazon bees need to be further documented, but traditional knowledge has it that certain honeys are very effective for certain ailments, such as eye diseases and respiratory defects. The working is said to come from resin of… Continued
Previous posts
Paralyzed by war: Yemen struggling to cope with water shortages
By Madiha Al-Junaid (edited by Brett Scot) June 18, 2015 It is not an uncommon sight: Children, women, the elderly, … Continued
Fighting Prosopis with smoldering dung
By Francesco SambalinoJune 11, 2015 In Somaliland Prosopis Juliflora is quickly gaining ground. Similarly to many other arid and … Continued
For migrants, is water life or grave?
posted by Sukru EsinJune 02, 2015 Fethiye is one of the most well known tourist spots in Turkey, as popular … Continued
It is the microclimate! You didn’t see?
By Frank van Steenbergen & Abraham Mehari HaileMay 28, 2015 They go largely unobserved and unattended. In view of the … Continued
Freeing up her time with electric churners
By Amira Abdel Gader & Matthijs KoolMay 20, 2015 Using the electric churner When we think of appropriate technology, we … Continued
How to take care of our subsurface?
By Melanne RouwMay 15, 2015 Image courtesy: drawingforkids.org If we are asked to draw a tree, we often don’t … Continued
Fuel shortage driving Yemen to the brink
by Abraham Abhishek May 11, 2015 Since March this year, the Yemeni people have been caught in airstrikes being carried … Continued
Eye on the Dry
By Frank van Steenbergen, Yasir Abbas Mohamed, Abraham Mehari Haile May 7, 2015 Small Water tank in Gash Die This is … Continued
Eery Beauty and Deadly Rain
By Frank van Steenbergen, Eyashu Yazew Hagos and Shimbahri MesfinApril 29, 2015 Postcard from Lake Hashenge, Tigray, Ethiopia. It is eery … Continued
Gambela Frontier News
By Taye Alemehayu and Frank van SteenbergenApril 23, 2015 Figure 1: Showing the level of a dying river in old … Continued
Weeping Stones, Filling Wells
By Francesco Sambalino and Cecilia BorgiaApril 14, 2015 Figure 1: Steamwells in the Afar settlement of Li Ado, near … Continued
Climate Change: Solar Eclipse or God’s Will?
By Anna SmitsMarch 19, 2015 Image: WikiCommons “Climate change is the time that the moon and the sun come together and … Continued
The World is Thirsty Because it is Hungry
By Kim HoeksMarch 6, 2015 Images: WikiCommons How much water does it cost to make a t-shirt or a cup … Continued
The Big Hole in the Middle East
by Sukru Esin and Frank van SteenbergenAugust 12, 2014 (re-posted February 27, 2015) Whilst the attention in Middle East water … Continued
Groundwater Management by Markup
By Qiulan Zhang, Jingli Shao, Xiaowei Wang and Frank van Steenbergen Located at the heart of Hengshui Prefecture of Hebei … Continued
Delivering the Promise: Lessons from Zaragoza UN-Water Conference
by Fredrick MugiraJanuary 27, 2015 Mid-January 2015, over 300 people converged in Zaragoza, Spain to take part in the International … Continued
High potentials
Posted by Matthijs Kool, Frank van Steenbergen, Berry van der Pol, Abraham Mehari Haile and Robert VuikJanuary 30, 2015 They are … Continued
Our Common Underground
Posted by Frank van SteenbergenJanuary 21st, 2015 It is the thing we even take more for granted than the air … Continued
The dripping time bomb
Posted by Frank van SteenbergenJanuary 7, 2015 Post card from Wadi Natrun, Egypt Over the last decades drip irrigation systems … Continued