Coffee and Conservation

There is a growing campaign involving both conservation and scientific organizations to convince major retailers and the coffee-drinking public to purchase "shade coffee" (grown under a canopy) as opposed to "sun coffee" (grown without an overstory) as means for preserving biodiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation biology 2003-02, Vol.17 (1), p.334-336
Main Authors: Rappole, John H., King, David I., Rivera, Jorge H. Vega
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biodiversity conservation
Biological and medical sciences
Conservation biology
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Diversity
Environmental conservation
Forest conservation
Forest ecology
Forest ecosystems
Forest reserves
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Habitat conservation
Natural resources conservation
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
Rain forests
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Summary:There is a growing campaign involving both conservation and scientific organizations to convince major retailers and the coffee-drinking public to purchase "shade coffee" (grown under a canopy) as opposed to "sun coffee" (grown without an overstory) as means for preserving biodiversity in the tropics. This campaign is based on studies showing that more structurally complex habitats generally support more diverse faunas. At 10 billion dollars annualy in revenues, coffee is second only to oil in value as a legal export commodity in many parts of Latin America, and in some countries it is the most imporatant source of foreign capital. These statistics mean that large numbers of consumers are involved, who can bring enormous pressure on growers. If significant numbers of people demand shade coffee and are willing to pay for it, then they are going to get it. Nevertheless, we believe there are reasons for caution in employing such a blunt instrument as market forces on such a complex conservation issue.
ISSN:0888-8892
1523-1739
DOI:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01548.x