White Paper

Biodiversity Conservation in Coffee: Transforming Productive Practices in the Coffee Sector by Increasing Market Demand for Certified Sustainable Coffee 2006–2013

The livelihoods of more than 25 million people in the tropics depend on coffee, one of the world’s most widely traded commodities. Coffee is farmed on approximately 12 million hectares worldwide, an area nearly the size of England. In Latin America, producers traditionally grew coffee under the canopy of old-growth forests. As logging, cattle grazing, and more intensive agricultural production have degraded primal forest areas, these plantations have served as important sanctuaries for the region’s original ecosystems.