For many years, experts have studied the collective intelligence of insects such as bees in the way they communicate in nature. It has been discovered that the information exchange among individual bees is perhaps the most essential component of the swarm’s knowledge sharing system. Bees exhibit this dynamic interaction in the ways they strategize and socialize as they forage for food from floral sources and carry it back into their command center­– the HIVE.

NTFP-EP is constantly innovating to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building among its network in and around Asia. In its 20th anniversary back in 2018, NTFP-EP launched HIVE, an integrated online platform that allows its network of community-based organizations, people’s organizations, academe, and the governments to communicate and share information, tools, and resources to support and enhance knowledge exchange and capacity building towards linking people and forests.

In its aim to connect on-ground experience with larger relevant issues and key events, HIVE is an easy-to-access centralized platform of electronic learning resources through webinars, podcasts, and discussion forums. It draws lessons from the NTFP-EP’s experience in working with partners on a wide range of topics from conservation and resource management, sustainable livelihoods, indigenous food and health, tenure rights and governance, gender, and culture.

With local and international travel grounded to a halt during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, HIVE has now also hosted online meetings, assemblies and webinars to continue facilitating knowledge exchange between partner organizations and communities.