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Ape guru develops coffee certification scheme

18 Feb 2006 13:53:50 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Helen Nyambura-Mwaura

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Ape conservationist Jane Goodall
said on Saturday she is developing a new certification scheme for
coffee growers farming in areas where endangered chimpanzees live,
mainly in Tanzania and Burundi.

Farmers will be encouraged to protect and enlarge forests where the
animals have their habitat in return for marketing of their product to
roasters interested in paying a premium for environmentally friendly
coffee.

"People associate my name with chimpanzees," the environmentalist told
Reuters on the sidelines of a conference of African coffee growers.

"By certifying this coffee, we ensure that it is super quality, it
complies with environmental standards that benefit the apes and (in
return) we give a great deal of money to the farmers by marketing
their coffee."

Certification schemes guarantee the product bought by consumers is
produced ethically.

Unlike other schemes, the Jane Goodall Conservation Label will target
villages -- instead of farms -- which would be willing to give up 10
to 20 percent of their land to enlarge indigenous forests around
Tanzania's Gombe National Park.

There are only 80 chimpanzees remaining in the 35 square km park,
located in the north of the country, after decades of poaching for the
bushmeat trade.

Goodall said the villagers would be required to produce shade-grown
coffees, to prevent them from cutting down trees. She did not say when
the scheme would be launched.

The Jane Goodall Institute will market the coffee to consumers willing
to pay at least $2.0 per pound compared to the 50-60 U.S. cents
farmers currently receive for their beans.

"Chimps don't eat coffee; they hate it so there will be no conflict
between them and the farmers," she said.

The scheme will then roll out to the Democratic Republic of Congo
where chimps provide as much as 90 percent of animal protein for human
beings in some areas. The 23 countries in which apes live in the wild
are among the world's poorest.

Poverty, encroachment on their habitat caused by logging and
population growth, the booming bushmeat trade, disease and climate
change are threatening entire species.

Other certification schemes include Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance,
Organic, Utz Kapeh and Bird Friendly.

Fairtrade focuses on giving farmers a premium to help protect them
from the fluctuations of world prices. Utz Kapeh, a Netherlands-based
scheme, covers good agricultural practices and worker welfare. The
Rainforest Alliance, Organic and Bird Friendly certifications address
environmental concerns.

The certification process can be expensive, however, locking out many
smallholder farmers too poor to meet requirements. (Additional
reporting by George Obulutsa)