Coffee is in danger!

Imagine opening up the morning paper, with the top headline: “we must save coffee from extinction.” What would you do?

A recent study by Imbach et. al found that by 2050, climate change will cause a reduction in the amount of “usable land to grow coffee, up to 88 percent.” This also means most coffee plantations will “see a reduction in the number of bee species.” We expect “arable coffee lands” to move out of the Coffee Belt; however, bees will not follow this shift for the most part, leaving many coffee plantations with a net loss of bee species. Some coffee plantations will see an increase, but it is not enough to outweigh the negative effects.

References:

Imbach, P., Fung, E., Hannah, L., Navarro-Racines, C. E., Roubik, D. W., Ricketts, T. H., ... & Roehrdanz, P. R. (2017). Coupling of pollination services and coffee suitability under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(39), 10438-10442.