Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi is a man on a mission to save the honeybee.
The avid beekeeper, who has been interested in the insects since he was a child, has set up numerous companies over the past few decades in the beekeeping industry.
But he has now consolidated them into one, called OneHive, which he hopes will become a global ambassador in the project to save bees from extinction.
“My interest started when I was young,” Sheikh Salem, who is also the chairman of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, told The National.
Our main focus is to educate the young generations about the importance of bees and their survival and how we can sustain them
Sheikh Salem bin Sultan
“I liked bees and had a passion for them. My father used to bring hives from the mountains for food. So the connection started there and later on I got into this industry.”
His company produces and sells honey produced from the nectar of the sidr tree, wildflowers, ghaf tree and even mangroves.
But its primary purpose is to ensure the survival of the bee species.
“Our main focus is to educate the young generations about the importance of bees and their survival and how we can sustain them, especially with the challenges we have in the area with the hot weather, the scarcity of water and all these things,” he said at Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Security Week, where his company is exhibiting.
“So this is very important how we can produce more bees, sustain them and produce our own local honey to have as a food security product here in the UAE.”
Bees are critically important pollinators, carrying pollen from one plant to another, thereby helping fertilise plants so they can produce fruit and seeds.
Bees pollinate 70 of the 100 fruit, vegetable and nut crop species that feed 90 per cent of the world’s population. If they die, so would the plants they pollinate.
And if this happens, experts say the world would lose half the vegetables and fruits that are available today.
But over the past few decades the world has recorded massive declines in the numbers of honeybees, with one global study earlier this year estimating a quarter of all bee species known to science – which is about 20,000 – have not been seen, despite improved and expanded monitoring programmes.
Another study by researchers at the University of Ottawa and University College London found that the likelihood of a bee being at any given place in Europe or North America has declined by a third since the 1970s.
OneHive put several initiatives in place to help ensure bees’ survival here, including creating a bee reserve near Hatta with more than 8,000 sidr trees.
It has also created an educational garden, OneHive Honeybee Garden and Discovery Centre in Hatta, to teach people about the importance of the species.
It is starting to build partnerships with local companies too to broaden its reach, with Dubai Airports roped in recently. The partnership seeks to build an educational centre to further raise awareness of the plight of the honeybee.
And it is also working with producers to save bees that are no longer needed after the short honey production season.
“What happens here in the UAE is a lot of bees are brought in. They are purchased outside of the UAE, in Egypt, for instance,” said Shadi Zakhour, the company’s managing director.
“It becomes a really commercial practice, where they bring the bees in for the season for maybe one month and then they let the bees die. This is something we are really against. We have created a buyback programme.
"We purchase the bees from the beekeepers after the season ends. So it gives us the opportunity to save some bees. It also helps our production to sustain them. No one wants to sustain them over the hot months. Bees are like us, they need protein and carbohydrates and if they can’t get that in the environment, they die.”
Sheikh Salem said about 50 per cent of the beekeepers only operate for the season. Out of that number, OneHive buys about 30 per cent of the bees which would have otherwise been allowed to die. It relocates them to cooler areas where the company looks after them to ensure their survival.
“We have to care about bees,” he said.
“If they disappear from Earth, life will follow and disappear after four years. That means it is a big impact on our life, our sustainability, our culture, our health, our food system, our security.”
Hatta bee farm - in pictures
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
