Apis mellifera mellifera, the Nordic brown bee, was the first honeybee subspecies to colonize the Northern European region and honey has been collected and consumed in this region for about 8000 years. In 2011, the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) established an ad hoc working group to clarify the current status of the Nordic brown bee in the Nordic and Baltic countries,to summarize the current in situ and ex situ conservation of A. m. mellifera and to provide suggestions for future research activities and initiatives. A main result of this work was that the Nordic brown bee suffers from a bad reputation within the beekeeping community. Additionally, due to their sex determination mechanism, small populations of these haplodiploidbees are at a higher risk of extinction than comparable diploid populations. Future conservation and sustainable use of A. m. mellifera calls for comprehensive phenotypicand genetic characterisation, and if possible, performance testing and selective breeding forgenetic improvement. Additionally, more effort should be put into the development and read option of management techniques suitable for A. m. mellifera, especially those concerning queen rearing. Efficient in situ conservation work should be combined with research activities,education and practical beekeeping.The in situ conservation work of A. m. mellifera in Nordic and Baltic countries has been carried out by public organizations and private people. Enhancement of conservation and expansion of the existing populations should include international cooperation, first and foremost coordinated exchange of genetic material. Financing of the conservation efforts ought to bediversified to include funding from national and/or international research grants, governmentalagencies and private businesses. However the most essential component is coordination of the national and international resources, and cooperation between actors. Based on the results of this project, we propose the establishment of a Nordic-Baltic network for in situ conservation of A.m. mellifera.