Number: 2005-03
WHEREAS, coffee is cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, but within the United States, it is cultivated only in Hawaii and Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, in natural settings, coffee grows in the forest understory, under the shade of native canopy trees, and traditional agriculture under a shading canopy of natural forest or planted shading trees; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations are simplified but stable agro-ecosystems that provide a highly structured diversity, shading canopy, nesting and feeding habitat for wildlife — including many native, endemic, and migratory birds, such as the Scaly-naped Pigeons, foraging grounds for Neotropical migratory birds, such as the Northern Parula and the American Redstart — and shelter for many plants and wildlife species, including federally threatened and endangered species; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations played a critical role protecting biodiversity in Puerto Rico by providing wildlife habitat during a period when the landscape was severely deforested; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations are excellent buffer zones around natural reserves, providing a smooth transition between urban and natural areas that are critical for the protection of the ecosystems and endemic, native and migratory wildlife, including many endangered species; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations can produce many secondary crops, in addition to coffee, like bananas, plantains, oranges, grapefruits, mangoes and many more products that increase the natural biodiversity of a farm and provide an economic incentive by diversifying cash crops for a sustainable way of farming; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations help conserve watersheds, leading to higher water quality and reduced flooding; and
WHEREAS, the shading canopy of many coffee plantations is being cut to give way to sun coffee, destroying habitat for many native and migratory species, promoting soil erosion, reducing biodiversity, and increasing pollution due to the need for the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and
WHEREAS, sun grown coffee plantations hold up to 90% fewer bird species than shade coffee plantations, require very high chemical input and year-round labor, leading to greater soil erosion and higher amounts of toxic runoff, which severely affect other ecosystems like coral reefs, sea turtle nesting beaches, and wetlands; and
WHEREAS, shade coffee plantations provide important habitat for Neotropical migratory birds and a very high number of resident species that are lost from areas of intensive agricultural practices; and
WHEREAS, most of the efforts to foster shade grown coffee production by state and federal agencies, as well as private agencies, take place outside the United States without attention to the coffee grown within the United States;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled April 1-2, 2005, in Washington D.C., hereby acknowledges: (1) the importance of shade coffee plantations for the protection of Neotropical migratory birds and many federally endangered species; (2) that coffee is grown within the U. S., mostly in Puerto Rico and Hawaii; and (3) that it is necessary to promote the use of permanent shading trees in all U.S. coffee plantations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other federal and local agencies related to this issue, to devote resources and implement a plan to restore the permanent shading canopy in United States coffee plantations.