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Deforestation and Shade Coffee in Oaxaca, Mexico

Author

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  • Blackman, Allen

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Albers, Heidi
  • Crooks, Lisa
  • Ávalos-Sartorio, Beatriz

Abstract

More than three-quarters of Mexico’s coffee is grown on small plots shaded by the existing forest. Because they preserve forest cover, shade coffee farms provide vital ecological services including harboring biodiversity and preventing soil erosion. Unfortunately, tree cover in Mexico’s shade coffee areas is increasingly being cleared to make way for subsistence agriculture, a direct result of the unprecedented decline of international coffee prices over the past decade. This paper summarizes the key findings of a three-year study of deforestation in Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s prime regions for growing shade coffee. First, we find that deforestation during the 1990s was significant. Second, the loss of tree cover can likely be slowed by promoting coffee-marketing cooperatives and “green” certification, providing coffee price supports, and specifically targeting areas populated by small, indigenous farmers for assistance. Finally, to be effective, such policies must be implemented quickly after price shocks occur.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen & Albers, Heidi & Crooks, Lisa & Ávalos-Sartorio, Beatriz, 2005. "Deforestation and Shade Coffee in Oaxaca, Mexico," RFF Working Paper Series dp-05-39, Resources for the Future.
  • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-05-39
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    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/RFF-DP-05-39.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Allen Blackman & Heidi J. Albers & Beatriz ávalos-Sartorio & Lisa Crooks Murphy, 2008. "Land Cover in a Managed Forest Ecosystem: Mexican Shade Coffee," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(1), pages 216-231.
    2. Nestel, David, 1995. "Coffee in Mexico: international market, agricultural landscape and ecology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 165-178, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Gustavo Cruz-Bello & Hallie Eakin & Helda Morales & Juan Barrera, 2011. "Linking multi-temporal analysis and community consultation to evaluate the response to the impact of Hurricane Stan in coffee areas of Chiapas, Mexico," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 58(1), pages 103-116, July.
    2. Avalos-Sartorio, Beatriz & Blackman, Allen, 2008. "Agroforestry Price Supports as a Conservation Tool: Mexican Shade Coffee," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-48, Resources for the Future.
    3. Groom, Ben & Palmer, Charles, 2014. "Relaxing constraints as a conservation policy," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(4), pages 505-528, August.
    4. Wollni, Meike & Zeller, Manfred, 2006. "Do Farmers Benefit from Participating in Specialty Markets and Cooperatives? The Case of Coffee Marketing in Costa Rica," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25670, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Cranford, Matthew & Mourato, Susana, 2014. "Credit-Based Payments for Ecosystem Services: Evidence from a Choice Experiment in Ecuador," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 503-520.
    6. Meike Wollni & Manfred Zeller, 2007. "Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 243-248, September.
    7. Karl Wienhold & Luis F. Goulao, 2023. "The Embedded Agroecology of Coffee Agroforestry: A Contextualized Review of Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption and Resistance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-30, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    deforestation; agroforestry; shade-grown coffee; Mexico; land cover;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry

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