politics

- Coffee Plantations: When Shady Practises are a Good Thing -

    Millions of people across North America have at least one cup of coffee every day, and although few may know it, the choices related to this habit can decrease the likelihood of seeing and hearing their local migratory birds the following spring. Many birds that breed and live in North America during the spring and summer spend their winter in the forests of Latin America or the Caribbean. Pristine, natural forest is disappearing quickly, and many birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects find refuge in traditional, shady coffee “forests”. However, an increasing number of coffee plantations in Latin America and the Caribbean, where two-thirds of the world’s coffee is grown, are converting to a shade-reduced “modernized” system. In response to pressure from agribusinesses to increase the amount of coffee produced per unit area, farmers have been cutting down their tree canopies and switching to varieties of coffee that will grow in direct sunlight. This can produce higher yield in the short term, but many people are questioning the sustainability of the sun grown plantations, which require “intensive management” that is detrimental to the environment, the farmers, and biodiversity across a wide range of species.

    Biologists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) found more than 150 species of birds in traditionally managed coffee and cacao plantations in the tropics. This is in stark contrast with the usual idea that intensive agriculture has to be a monoculture with low species diversity. In a paper on conserving biological diversity in agricultural and forest systems, Pimental et al. reported that over 50% of the world’s terrestrial area is dedicated to agriculture, 20% to commercial forests, and 25% to human settlements. This leaves only around 5% unmanaged and uninhabited. Given these figures, and the fact that as of 1990 humans had destroyed about 44% of the world’s tropical forests, 80% of which were cleared to make room for agriculture, the benefits of being able to use land both for agricultural purposes and to maintain a refuge for biological diversity are enormous. Shade coffee plantations support the highest level of biodiversity found in any agricultural site, and as a bird habitat is bested only by large expanses of untouched forest (which unfortunately is often highly fragmented).

    Perfecto et al. found that two-thirds of the bird species in traditional coffee plantations are found in the tree canopy that provides shade on the under story where the coffee plants grow. These canopy trees provide habitat and foraging sites for birds, as they live in the trees and forage for insects, fruit, or nectar. They also provide habitat for mammals such as bats, small wild cats, and monkeys, as well as numerous reptiles and amphibians, insects, arthropods, and epiphytic plants such as rare orchids.

    Northern Latin America grows about 33% of the world’s coffee on 2.7 million hectares of land (about 44% of the permanent cropland), where the coffee plantations fall on a continuum from traditional shade grown plantations (specified as more than 40% shade coverage), to full-sun modernized plantations. In their paper on shade coffee, Perfecto et al. explain that modernization began in the 1970’s partly in response to the threat of the much feared (among coffee farmers) coffee leaf rust fungus, and in some countries (excluding Mexico and Colombia) due to pressure from the US Agency for International Development for higher yields. They reported in 1996 that 1.1 million hectares of shade coffee plantations had been modernized in Northern Latin America. The percentage of converted land ranges from country to country, with Mexico at the lowest with 15% and Colombia at the highest with 60%. Some studies have found that 25% to only 5% of the bird species typically found on shade plantations remain on sun plantations, and the SMBC fact sheet cites studies conducted in Mexico and Colombia which found that the number of bird species decreased by as much as 94-97% as coffee plantations were modernized. Many coffee plantations are situated in mid-elevation forests where few reserves exist and little natural forest remains. Perfecto et al. report that while many of the migrational birds that currently occupy shade grown coffee plantations are not endangered, three species of birds (the Baltimore oriole, the Tennessee warbler, and the Cape May warbler) that are specialized to living on shaded plantations have declined sharply with the increase in sun plantations, and we could only expect more species to follow suite as their last remaining refuges are converted.

    Along with the increased yield of sun grown plantations (shade plantations typically yield about 1/3 the amount of coffee as sun plantations) come a slew of negative effects on the environment and the farmers. Sun varieties require more agrochemicals (such as chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) than shade varieties that can result in increased toxic run-off, possible pollution of local water supplies, health risks to farm workers and their families, and decreased biodiversity. The loss of the canopy trees also leads to increased soil erosion, increased water and soil run-off, loss of soil nutrients, and loss of commodities provided by the trees (often banana trees, citrus fruit trees, avocado trees, or trees used for fuel or timber).

    In February 2005, Vancouverite Clif Prowse traveled to the central highlands of Guatemala to volunteer at a farmer’s co-op which grows coffee using traditional, organic, bird-friendly techniques before shipping it to Vancouver to be roasted and sold. According to Prowse, the benefits of this system are two-fold: the farmers are happy to be environmentally sustainable and ecologically friendly, and it is rewarding because they can sell their beans at a higher price to people who care about how their coffee is grown.
While maintaining shade coffee plantations is not a substitute for pristine forest reserves, they have conservation benefits for migratory birds and some resident bird species, as well as many amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and insects. As consumers we have the power to protect the winter habitat of many of our migratory birds, maintain biodiversity and environmentally responsible agriculture, and support sustainable practices for small farmers by choosing shade-grown coffee.

References

Bird safe and shade grown coffee. Coffeeresearch.org. Available from http://www.coffeeresearch.org/politics/birdsafe.htm (accessed February 2007)

Clif Prowse, personal communication (February 2007).

Perfecto, I., Rice, R.A., Greenberg, R., van der Voort, M.E. 1996. Shade coffee: A disappearing refuge for biodiversity. Bioscience 46(8): 598-608

Pimental, D., Stachow, U., Takacs, D.A., Brubaker, H.W., Dumas, A.R., Meaney, J.J., O’Neil, J.A.S., Onsi, D.E., Corzilius, D.B. 1992. Conserving biological diversity in agricultural/forestry systems. Bioscience 42(5): 354-362

Why migratory birds are crazy for coffee. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre. Available from http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Fact_Sheets/default.cfm?fxsht=1 (accessed February 2007)