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Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: Persistent Paradoxes Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Environmental Studies and Sciences College of Arts & Sciences 2008 Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: eP rsistent Paradoxes Christopher M. Bacon Santa Clara University, [email protected] V. Ernesto Méndez Jonathan A. Fox Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/ess Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Environmental Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bacon, C.M., V.E. Mendez and J.A. Fox (2008). Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: Persistent Paradoxes. In Bacon, C. M., Méndez, V.E., Gliessman, S., Goodman, D., and J.A. Fox, (Eds.). Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America. MIT Press: MA. http://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262026338.003.0014 Copyright © 2008 MIT Press. Reprinted with permission. https://mitpress.mit.edu/index.php?q=node/195252 This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Sciences at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Environmental Studies and Sciences by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 14 Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: Persistent Paradoxes Chri stopher M. Bacon, V. Ernesto Mendez, a nd Jonathan A. Fox Although m any coffee-growing communities sustain an inspi ri ng combination of cu ltural and biological diversity, they have been dramatica ll y impacted b y the coffee crisi s. The coffee crisis is not the first shock to hit these regions, and many observers find it difficult to separate one crisis from the many natural di sasters, economic collapses, and political struggles that smallholders a nd rural workers continue to survive (Bacon, this volume; Skoufi as 2003 ). Nor is crisis in the glo bal South limited to coffee-growing communities. Studies have estimated that from 1980 to 1999 the Latin America and Caribbean region experienced at least 38 major natural disas­ ters and over 40 episodes when GDP per capita fell by 4 percent or more (IADB 2000). A crisis occurs when preexisting conditions a nd vulnerabilities are met with a trigger event, such as a hurricane, sudden currency devalu ati on or a commodity price crash (Blaikie et al. 1994). A close analys is of the impacts a nd responses to a crisis reveals much about the pre-existing vulnerabilities a nd unequal power r ela­ tionships (Wisner 2001 ). The publicity and public awareness surrounding the coffee crisis, like that accom­ panying Hurricane Katrina, creates a "teachable moment." This attention opens wi ndows into the uneven power relationships w ithin the global coffee industry and encourages a closer look at social and ecological r elationships in coffee-producing regions. Systematic study can reveal the damages and the responses, a nd can help to identify more producti ve avenues for confronting future chall enges. The cri sis also provid es a n opportunity to delve deeper into political-economic structures and th e underl ying tensions that accompany international trade a nd struggles for more in clusive and sustainable rural development processes. In this concluding chapter, we sy nthesize the findings of preceding chapters in to a s in gle narrative. First, we review the studies that focused on small-scale coffee farmers' changi ng liveli hoods a nd landscapes. These a uthors conducted most of the research in these chapters prior to this most recent crisis, and their findings show the pre-existing dive rsi ty, continuity, and change in Mesoamerican smallholders' 338 Bacon et al. li ve lihoods and shade coffee landscapes. The fo ll owing section moves the focus downstream and into the changing coffee markets and certifi ed trade networks, incorporating findings from the preceding chapters into a narrative th at links changing coffee farmers' li velihoods and landscapes to sustainability initiatives wi thin the coffee industry. The discuss ion then engages the paradoxes that must be addressed to develop longer-term strategies to confront the coffee cri sis . Finall y, we conclude with a brief assessment of the limited impacts of sustainable coffee efforts so far, as well as their future potential. Liveli hoods and Landscapes in Mesoamerican Coffee Regions: Small-Scale Fa rmers' Livelihoods and Environmental Conservation At the time when the world was becoming aware of the dramatic social and economic impacts of the coffee crisis, ecologica l research was increasingly demon­ strating that shade coffee agroecosystems conse rve tropical biodiversity and other ecosystem services (e .g. water and soil conservation) (Babbar and Zak 1995; Gallina et a l. 1996; Perfecto et al. 1996; Muschler 1997; Beer et al. 1998; Moguel and Toledo 1999; Perfecto et al. 2003; Mas and Dietsch 2004; Somarriba et a l. 2004; Philpott et al., forthcomin g). These smallholders also continue to conserve high levels of crop diversity in their coffee, corn, bea ns and other crops (Brush 2004 ). As Gli essman argues in this volume, small-scale traditional coffee farms have hi gher conservation potential than do larger-scale agrochemical dependent types of coffee management. The data presented in the empirical studies in this book strongly support this argument. T he defi ning agroecological characteristic of the coffee producers studied in chapters 4-9 is that shade trees are an integral part of their agroecosystem man­ agement. A diverse and abundant shade-tree canopy is widely recognized as the basic fo undation for low ecological impact and environmenta ll y friend ly coffee farms (Perfecto et a l. 1996; Somarriba et a l. 2004; G li essman, this volume). The case studies here provide additional ev idence. In most of the coffee farms studied, shade-tree biodiversity was high, demonstrating strong potential for on-farm con­ servati on. 1 The two studies that present greatest detail in this respect refer to small­ hol ders in El Sa lvador and Nicaragua. In El Salvador, Mendez shows, shade coffee cooperatives have almost as much tree diversity (169 species) as a nearby national park (174 species), although tree species composition is different. In Nicaragua, Westphal documents a trend toward a more di ve rsified shade-tree canopy in two different groups of producers reaching a total of 80 tree species in 62 farms. In both countries, shade-tree products support household livelih ood strategies. In addition, Martinez-Torres finds a positive correlation between number of tree species and Cultivating Sustainable Coffee 339 coffee yie ld s. These studies show the conservati on potential within small -scale coffee farms. T hey a lso demo nstrate that a di versity of shade-tree species provides direct benefits to the environment and to farmers' li velihoods (Moguel and Toledo 1999; Somarriba et al. 2004). In addition to shade-tree biodive rsity, two of the studies document the soil con­ se rvatio n impacts of sm all -sca le coffee farmer strategies . Martfnez-Torres's research shows that coffee pla ntati o ns under a low-intensity, no in put management approach have the lowest va lues fo r an erosion index, a nd the highest va lu es fo r a ground cover index, when compa red to tra nsiti o n, o rgani c, and conve nti ona l ma nagement strate­ gies . The conventional management strategy is associated with the highest erosion index and the lowes t ground cover index, whil e organic a nd transition index val ues are in the middle. On the o ther hand, low-intensity ma nagement is associated w ith low coffee yield s a nd correspondingly low ho usehold coffee income, as compared t o conventio nal management. This s uggests an in ve rse relati onship between ecologica l and econo mi c benefits. O rganic coffee came o ut as a good compromi se, where yield and income a re comparable to conventiona l management, and its environmenta l indicators comparabl e to i1atu ra l systems. In seeking a n alternative that will enha nce li ve lih oods and environment, Martinez-Torres's chapter points to a need to improve o rganic management's soil conservati on attributes, whil e maintain ing its economic advantages. Guadarra ma-Zugasti compares manage ment practices related to pesti­ ci de use between different types of producers, including both small -sca le and l a rger fa rms {this volume). H e finds th at sma ll -scale producers were using much lower levels of p esticides a nd fertili zers, which r esulted in lower soil and water co ntamina­ tio n problems than those o bserved in la rger farms. The case studies reveal contradictory patterns between environmental conser­ vati on and sma ll -scale farmers' li ve lihoods. This po in t is clearly documented by Guadarrama-Zugasti a nd Trujill o, w ho show that the coffee farmers in Veracruz, Mexico that have the lowest impact on the environment are a lso th e most socia ll y margin a li zed (this volume) . ln the icaraguan a nd the Sa lva doran cases presented by Westpha l a nd Mendez, shade trees not onl y contribute to landscape biodive r­ sity conservation, but a lso to ho use hold li ve lih ood strategies in th e form of fru it, firewood and tim ber througho ut th e year. However, li ke their M exican counter­ pa rts, these growers a re not able to overcome their hi gh levels o f socio-economi c vu lnerability. G iven this si tuation, they have oriented their agroecosystem man­ agement toward a di versifi ed strategy th at seeks to compensa te fo r volati le coffee price .
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