Background paper to World Bank Agricultural Technology Note 30, "Toward more sustainable coffee", published June 2002. Environmental benefits of sustainable coffee Kristina Sorby, RDV A coffee plantation grown under the shade of the natural forest canopy is one of the few production systems that can conserve vital habitats and biodiversity. Currently, extensive areas of tropical forest are being converted into coffee fields, which contributes to overproduction of low-quality produce, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Coffee is grown in 13 of the worlds 25 biodiversity "hotspots" - areas of high vulnerability and biological importance. Of the 11.8 million hectares used for coffee production around the world in 2001, only 2.3 million hectares in Brazil are not planted in areas of former or current rainforest (Halweil 2002). The actual environmental benefits from introducing sustainable coffee production systems in a region depends both on the location, the history of the coffee production and which principles that are included in the specific certification guidelines used. In shade- grown coffee, the focus of the certification is to establish a production system that mimics the natural forest and benefits the environment in the region. Fair trade encourages environmentally beneficial measures, but it is not the main focus of the certification scheme. According to the organic guidelines, agrochemicals are ruled out, but the crop does not have to be grown under shade to be certified as organic. However, shade trees are often included since they are necessary for the fertilization of the system. Depending on whether the area is more or less vulnerable to erosion, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation, the location will be under different amounts of stress. The effects of the introduction of a sustainable production system will differ depending on how far the degradation in the area has gone. In many areas, coffee is still grown in a traditional system that does not require many changes to be certified as sustainable coffee. These areas are often located in remote areas of significant value for their biodiversity and it is important to introduce sustainable production systems in these regions before the farmers are forced to technify the production or turn the land into pasture. Where a technification of the coffee production has taken place, and depending on how long history the technified system has in the region, the more difficult can it be to transfer back into an environmentally friendly system. Biodiversity The difference in biodiversity between technified systems and sustainable coffee production has been recorded in several studies. A study on the effects on biodiversity within different coffee production systems (Perfecto et.al. 1996) shows that there are significantly higher numbers of various insects in the traditional shade grown systems than in the technified "sun-grown" plantations (see table 1). The diverse traditional coffee plantation supports a high density of natural predators and parasitoids, which reduces the number of insect pests in traditional plantations. This is an informal publication of the Agriculture and Rural Development Family of the World Bank. It is intended to encourage the exchange of ideas among Bank staff and all others interested in development issues. This paper carries the name of the author and should be used and cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the author's own and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its Board of Directors, its management, or any member countries. Table 1. Number of species of beetles, ants, wasps, and spiders in the canopy of shade trees and coffee plants in different types of coffee farms, based on fogging with Pyrethrin-based insecticides. Species Type of farm Beetles Ants Non-ant Spiders Hymenoptera Shade trees Erythrina Traditional 126 30 103 NA poeppigiana Erythrina fusca Traditional 110 27 61 NA Annona sp. Traditional NA 10 63 NA E. poeppigiana Technified with 48 5 46 NA shade Coffee plants Coffea Traditional 39 14 34 44 arabica* Technified with 29 9 31 NA shade Technified without 29 8 30 29 shade *Coffee based on ten plants per treatment Source: Perfecto et.al. (1996) Martínez-Paz et.al. (2000) noted that systems of shade grown coffee can support such a high diversity of plants as between 90 and 120 plant species with a complex structure of herbs, shrub and trees. These plants also serve as the substrate for epiphytes. Reports show a minimum of 25 species of orchids associated with shade trees in coffee plantations (Williams-Linera et.al. 1995), and such high numbers as 90 species of orchids were reported in a study of ten coffee farms (Marques et.al. 1976). Ornithologists with the American Birding Association have documented the importance of shade-grown coffee to support bird habitats in an increasingly deforested landscape. The differences in bird fauna between coffee plantations grown in shade and sun were studied by Greenberg et.al. (1997). In the three production systems studied, the coffee plantations that included shade tree species of Inga supported slightly higher numbers of birds than the other systems. The number of birds found in each point was generally related to the height and structural diversity of the canopy. Overall, birds were 74% more often recorded in the shade trees of coffee plantations than in the coffee layer (Greenberg et.al. 1997). Figure 1 shows the number of bird species recorded in different coffee production systems in Peru (Greenberg and Rice 2001). Another study by Martínez and Petters, (1996) noted that only 6-12 bird species were found in sun-grown coffee, compared to 82-184 in shade-grown systems. 2 Figure 1. Number of bird species in different habitats in Peru. 180 census 150 100 per 120 90 points species 60 bird 30 of 0 No. Sun coffee Scrub Shade coffee Diverse shade coffee Habitat in Peru Source: Greenberg and Rice (2001). Deforestation and soil conservation An increased tree cover reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is important in reducing the global green house effect and stabilizing the global climate. Shade grown coffee plantations contribute largely to the fixation of carbon (see table 2). Table 2. Carbon sequestration in different agroecosystems (tons C/Ha and year) Forest Forest Shade Forest Shade Diversified Monoculture Grown Grown and Shade Shade Grown Coffee Domestics Plants Coffee 196 174 118 101 77 Source: PROCAFE (2001). Shade grown systems are also of large importance in conserving the soil and preventing soil erosion. The shade trees lower the impact from tropical rainstorms, affect the local climate, and the tree roots help retain the moisture in the soil and take up water which prevents flooding and land slides. Trees can also improve the soil nutrient status by bringing up nutrients from lower levels, and leguminous species can provide the plantation with nitrogen due to their ability to fixate nitrogen from the air. Reduction of agrochemicals and waste Shade-grown systems present habitats for many natural enemies to the pests and diseases attacking coffee. Birds have for example been recorded to reduce insect abundance by 75% (Greenberg and Rice 2001). Organic practices and shade trees reduce the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers and contribute to reduced environmental risks such as contamination of the water supplies, lower health risks for the farmer and the community, 3 as well as a better farm economy due to less costs of inputs. Several certification guidelines also require waste and by-products of coffee to be managed in such a way as to minimize the environmental impacts. In the "Conservation Principles for Coffee Production" (2001), signed by Conservation International, Consumer's Choice Council, Rainforest Alliance, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Summit Foundation, proper waste management is included as one of the main principles. The guidelines promote a general reduction of the amount of waste produced on the farm through composting of by-products and domestic waste as well as recycling or proper disposal of inorganic waste. References: Conservation Principles for Coffee Production, adopted by Conservation International, Consumer's Choice Council, Rainforest Alliance, Smithonian Migratory Bird Center, Summit Foundation, 25 May 2001. Greenberg, R., P. Bichier, A. Cruz Angon, and R. Reitsma (1997): Bird Populations in Shade and Sun Coffee Plantations in Central Guatemala. Conservation Biology. Vol. 11, No. 2. pp. 448-459. Greenberg, R.and R. A. Rice. (2001): Manual de café bajo sombra y biodiversidad en el Perú. - The Peruvian Shade-grown Coffee Primer. Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Institution. Halweil, B. (2002). Why your daily fix can fix more than your head. World Watch. Vol. 15. No. 3. May/June 2002. Martinez E. and W. Petters. (1996): La cafeticultura biológica: la finca Irlanda como estudio de caso de un diseño agroecológico. In J. Trujillo, F. de León-Gonzales, R. Calderón and P. Torres- Lima, editors. Ecología aplicada a la agricultura: Temas selectos de México D.F., p. 159-183. Marquez, W., P. Valdivia and A. Gomez-Pompa. (1976): Resúmen de los Tipos de Vegetación Natural de las Zonas Cafetaleras de los Estados de Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo y Tamaulipas. Reporte Técnico, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones sobre recursos Bióticos, Xalapa Veracruz, México. Martínez-Paz, H., F. De La Parra-Zepeda, and R. Castillo-Fragoso (2000): El cultivo del Café Bajo Sombra en México y su Relación con la Conservación de la Diversidad Biológica. Consejo Mexicano del Café. Chapultepec Morales, México. Perfecto, I., R. A. Rice, R. Greenberg, and M. Van der Voort (1996). Shade Coffee: A disappearing Refuge for Biodiversity. Shade coffee plantations can contain as much biodiversity as forest habitats. Bioscience. Vol. 46, No. 8. PROCAFE. (2001): Differentiating Salvadorian Coffee. Paper presented at the World Bank, October 2001. Williams-Linera, G., V. Sosa and T. Platas. (1995): The fate of Epiphytic Orchids after Fragmentation of a Mexican Cloud Forest. Selbyana 16:36-40. 4