Nauta (Perú) Municipal Ordinance: rights of stingless bees

Summary

On December 22, 2025, the Provincial Municipality of Nauta-Loreto approved a municipal ordinance (N°17-2025) recognizing the rights of native stingless bees, making Loreto the second region in Peru to do so. The ordinance establishes that stingless bees have the fundamental right to exist and flourish in a healthy environment, without pollution, habitat loss, climate change, human activity or other threats getting in the way of their survival.

Nauta’s ordinance follows an earlier ordinance passed by the municipality of Satipo, Peru in October 2025, declaring the rights of stingless bees. Satipo’s ordinance was the first time any government has recognized the rights of an insect, and the first legal recognition of bee rights worldwide. Both ordinances build on a 2024 national law reform in Peru that grants protections to the native stingless bees and acknowledged them as species of national importance. Until then, only European honeybees (Apis mellifera) were protected under Peruvian law.

Ecological Context
Stingless bees are the oldest bee species on the planet. About half of the world’s 500 known species live in the Amazon, and Peru is home to at least 175 species. The bees play vital roles in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest ecosystem and are responsible for pollinating more than 80% of the flora, including crops like cacao, coffee ,and avocados. They also hold deep cultural and spiritual meaning for the Amazon Indigenous Asháninka and Kukama-Kukamiria peoples, reflecting their coexistence with the rainforest and Indigenous traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

This project is led by Indigenous leaders from the Kukama-Kukamiria and Asháninka peoples of Nauta, in collaboration with Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza of Amazon Research Internacional, Peruvian scientist and stingless bee expert Cesar Delgado, and the Earth Law Center.

Involved Organizations

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