Socio-Economic Perceptions and Stakeholder Potential of Estonian Beekeepers Vary with Operation Size

The traditional value of beekeeping lies in the production of honey, other bee products, and the provision of pollination services. In recent decades, beekeepers have evolved from mere service providers into ecological stakeholders who shape sustainable land use management and ecological restoration. Through an anonymous questionnaire, we investigated the socio-cultural perceptions of Estonian beekeepers as indicators of their stakeholder potential on two operation scales. We observed that Estonian beekeepers balance economic orientation with hobby activity, and these proportions vary according to operation size. Beekeepers reported that they are considered positive members of their communities, often with deep-rooted family ties. Estonian beekeeping suffers from a ‘myth gap’ because beekeepers have weak connections to national culture and heritage; these assets could otherwise be leveraged in product marketing through ‘heritage branding’. The stakeholder potential of beekeepers is limited by their subordinate position in interactions with landowners and land managers; however, their motivations, constraints, and options to act as efficient stakeholders differ between small-scale and large-scale holdings. We conclude that large-scale beekeepers have greater potential to act as stakeholders in nudging land users towards sustainability. We suggest that beekeepers move beyond opportunistic practices, activate their social networks, and integrate local cultural traditions to advocate for sustainable land use and guide pollinator-friendly ecological restoration.