Shade-grown Coffee helps Canadian Birds and forests
Literally billions of birds leave Canada each fall to migrate to wintering grounds in tropical and subtropical Americas. Hundreds of millions of these birds depend on forests at either end of their migration. Species like the Tennessee Warbler, that breeds in Canada, is raised in the Canadian boreal forests on leaf-eating caterpillars, like the Spruce budworm. Unchecked by these insect-eating birds, the caterpillars would strip the trees of their vital photosynthesizing organs. Therefore, these birds contribute directly to the health of Canadian forests by consuming thousands of tons of defoliating insects, enabling the trees to produce oxygen, absorb carbon, and provide habitat for wildlife, not to mention humans.
On their wintering grounds, many of these bird species have similar roles, though some species switch to eating fruit or nectar from flowers, hence serving as seed dispersers or pollinators. Forests in the tropics are under great pressure from logging, agriculture and many of the consequences of poverty.
One hopeful approach that could benefit birds and people in the montane forests of Latin America is the production of bird-friendly, or shade-grown coffee. In contrast to sun-grown coffee, shade-grown coffee can provide both an income to farmers and be beneficial to birds.
Ninety species of birds that breed in Canada have been observed in shade coffee plantations! This was a finding in a report entitled “Beneficiaries of shade-grown coffee: birds, farmers and certifications” by Dr. Ana Gonzalez for Nature Canada, commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Canada Warbler by Carl Savignac
Based on a scientific literature review and Dr. Gonzalez’s own first-hand experience, shade coffee may be most beneficial to over-wintering birds whose energetic requirements are lower than migrating. For example, her own personal research has focused largely on the Canada Warbler. She has determined that Canada Warbler does well over-wintering in many shade coffee farms in parts of the Colombian Andes.
However, she also notes that recent studies conducted during the overwintering period and migration suggest that the suitability of shade-grown coffee plantations may be less optimal, compared with native forest, for migrating birds. This could be related to food availability (more food in native forests), and could be mitigated by incorporating more fruiting and flowering trees into the shade coffee farms.
Dr. Gonzalez’s report compares the five major third-party coffee certification systems that seek to enhance environmental, social, and economic sustainability during coffee production and processing. These systems include Bird Friendly, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Organic and Fairtrade. While each system has its advantages and limitations, only the Bird Friendly Coffee certification of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is based on decades of research aimed at understanding the habitat needs of birds and other wildlife in shade-grown coffee plantations. Bird Friendly is the only certification that requires farmers to comply with standard levels of shade that enhance habitat suitability for migratory species, having shade is not required for initial certification in any of the other certifications.
Nature Canada purchases only Bird-Friendly coffee for staff, as is the practice with many of our partner organizations. In so doing, this is a very small, but important step to supporting the 90 Canadian species that use shade-grown coffee plantations on their wintering habitat.
