£150k aid for the beekeepers of Kyrgyzstan

TAXPAYERS stumped up nearly £150,000 to boost beekeeping in an obscure central Asian republic.

The cash was handed over to train beekeepers in Kyrgyzstan as part of a grants scheme funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Darwin Initiative gives grants to countries that are seen as ‘rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources’ to help preserve the environment.

Nearly 1,000 similar schemes have benefited since 1992, with a total of £126million awarded in grants from the overseas aid budget. A committee of experts from government, academia, science and private industry advise ministers on which projects to fund.

Kyrgyzstan, which has a population of 5.4million, became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The bee scheme ended in 2014 and cost a total of £149,646.

Tory MP and aid critic Philip Davies told The Sun on Sunday: ‘This is the type of spending that brings overseas aid into disrepute. The public thinks overseas aid is to help countries and people who have suffered natural disasters.’ But a spokesman for Defra defended the scheme, saying it had helped protect some of the world’s most endangered species.

Officials even suggested the project had ‘helped discover new mountain ranges’ since it was launched in 1992.

A spokesman said: ‘Looking after the planet on which we all depend is in our national interest and the right thing to do.

‘By sharing our expertise, working with local communities in developing countries and helping fund one-off projects, we have saved some of the world’s most endangered species.’

The Darwin Initiative was launched at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Cash spent on its projects count against the government’s target to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid.

UK aid spending – currently around £12billion – is set to increase to more than £15billion by the end of the decade, even as other government departments face sharp cuts.

Ministers came under pressure last week over spending on aid in corrupt countries after David Cameron’s overheard admission to the Queen that Afghanistan and Nigeria are ‘fantastically corrupt’. Britain has handed £2.7billion to the world’s ten most corrupt countries since 2010.