Geolocalization of apiaries in areas at risk of natural disasters using Geographic Information Systems in Villa Clara, Cuba

The honey bee depends on environmental conditions for its optimal development, its food base must be in healthy ecosystems and in equilibrium with diverse and abundant blooms, as well as abundant water. Cuba is exposed to different natural hazards and is affected every year by extreme meteorological phenomena. The objective of the study was to georeferenced apiaries in areas at risk to natural disasters in order to establish beekeeping reorganization and mitigation measures based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The work was carried out in Villa Clara province, Cuba. 100% of the apiaries and beehives were identified and an informative platform was created to locate them with the agroecosystem and their environment. The program Quantum GIS (QGIS, 2013) version 3.2.1 was used, a commercial and free GIS package for the basics of geospatial research, which made it possible to create an interactive platform of thematic layers for the evaluation and geographic analysis in relation to the apiaries and their environmental surroundings. The design of the information platform with thematic layers based on GIS facilitated the visualization of areas densely populated by beehives with bee colonies, the integral analysis of beekeeping agroecosystems, the identification and georeferencing of apiaries in areas at risk from natural disasters, and made it possible to establish measures for beekeeping reorganization and mitigation of meteorological events, such as flooding due to heavy rains, sea penetration, strong winds, and forest fires.