Coffee Biodiversity Initiative (CBI)

Coffee production and its productivity are now focused as a strong sector in the big economic, social but
also environmental challenges facing the growing communities now and over the coming years. In Africa
it is now vital to hold discussions focused around how Coffee demands will affect climate and lead to
climate change, biodiversity and environment, and contributions to nature conservation.
AUC launched a Coffee Biodiversity Initiative (CBI) that builds on land sparing and land sharing as an
offset practice that was innovated by scientific studies “Towards developing sustainable, biodiversity-
rich agriculture systems ” born out of “Conserving Biodiversity in the Modernizing Farmed
Landscapes in coffee – Banana Arc 17 years ago. This is because for past years Coffee is the most
traded agricultural crop while supporting the life of multiple ecological communities mainly in most of
rural Africa. Most of the Coffee species are (Coffea arabica & C. canephora). The species’ survival
depends heavily on biodiversity workings.
We acknowledge the work done by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) https://www.bto.org/ ;
https://www.rspb.org.uk/ ; Makerere University Institute of Environment & Natural Resources then ;;
Uganda Wildlife Society, and more teams that delivered scientific results. AUC has been following
the changes happening in the coffee – banana arc and realized increased agro-biodiversity threats
due to multiple anthropogenic actions. This range from lost and reduced land spared and shared for
biodiversity safeguarding areas, increased application of agrochemicals, and food insecurity for both
dependant ecological communities.
What next: There seem to be tried approaches but have not arrived at the best practices that require
fine-tuning for co-existence. This can best be arrived at by considering a political ecology approach
to arrest its meltdown. The approach requires a thorough interlinked and exhausting analysis of the
highest levels of value chains. The value chains integration of global themes i.e. mitigation of
greenhouse gas emissions; Adaptation to the impacts of climate change; Conservation of natural
carbon sinks with a focus on reducing emissions from land cover reduction and Biodiversity
conservation respectively.
Joining CBI
Setting a tone of urgency and a need for every conservationist or people to do their part is vital to
achieve and succeed the CBI is an opportunity of support available everywhere in coffee countries
those in consumption and production. Partners are invited to join AUC in preparation of a strategic
response that will highly consider role and existence of biodiversity in coffee production around
Africa.