Pollinators Coexistence: What the Giannutri Case Teaches Us

In June 2025, the Regional Administrative Court of Tuscany, Florence, ruled in favor of an Italian beekeeping enterprise, La Pollinosa. A decision comes after a legal dispute that began in 2024, when the Tuscan Archipelago National Park denied authorization to reintroduce the Ligustica honey bee colonies to Giannutri Island, citing concerns over potential competition between Apis mellifera and wild pollinators. The Park’s decision was challenged in Court by La Pollinosa, with the support of multiple national and regional beekeeping associations, including UNAAPI, a longstanding BeeLife member.

The Court has annulled and declared unlawful the Park’s administrative highlighting the absence of a contradictory hearing, despite prior authorisations for the same activity by the Park itself.

The judgment states that, faced with La Pollinosa's criticisms of the scientific justifications advanced by the Park, the Park failed to provide counter-arguments and instead insisted exclusively on restating the findings of the studies underlying its reasoning, without addressing the appeal's criticisms concerning the methodological and substantive unreliability of the studies.

The Court also establishes the principle whereby, according to the law, nomadic beekeeping is «an activity that is free from an administrative standpoint» and reaffirmed that the Park’s own regulations explicitly allow for beekeeping under specific health and biodiversity-preserving conditions. No complaint has ever been lodged by the Park against La Pollinosa concerning such conditions.

A Broader Reflection on Pollinator Coexistence

This case speaks to a wider and increasingly common debate: the relationship between domestic pollinators, such as honey bees, and wild pollinator species. At BeeLife, we believe this issue cannot be addressed through oversimplified bans or unverified precautionary principles, but must be tackled through scientific dialogue, legal clarity, and mutual respect among environmental stakeholders.

Pollinators are all key indicators of environmental health. While interactions between species must be studied seriously, any decisions affecting beekeeping must be grounded in robust data, transparent procedures, and inclusive governance.

Research, Advocacy and Clarity

In response to the questions raised by the Giannutri case, and others like it emerging across Europe, BeeLife announces the launch of a dedicated European-level study on the coexistence of wild and managed pollinators, to be carried out during 2025.

A Call for Responsibility

BeeLife welcomes the Giannutri ruling as a milestone for science-based environmental governance. It reminds us that beekeeping, when responsibly practiced, is part of the biodiversity solution, not the problem. Conservation policies must avoid framing managed pollinators as scapegoats for broader ecological degradation driven by habitat loss, pesticide use, and agricultural intensification.

We call on public authorities, media, and civil society to approach pollinator protection with nuance, transparency, and unity. Defending biodiversity means defending both wild ecosystems and the rural communities who help sustain them through sustainable practices like beekeeping.