Coffee-driven deforestation is making it harder to grow coffee, watchdog group says

"More than 1,200 square miles of forest were cleared for coffee cultivation in Brazil's coffee-growing areas between 2001 and 2023, according to a new report from the group Coffee Watch. The group used satellite images, government land use data and a forest-loss alert system in its analysis. Overall, in areas with a high concentration of coffee-growing operations, a total of more than 42,000 square miles of forest are now gone, the report said. This includes forest loss caused directly by coffee farming where land was cleared to grow the crop as well as indirectly, from nearby road and infrastructure projects, for example."

"Scientists have shown how deforestation leads to less rainfall in tropical rainforests. That's because the trees there soak up and release moisture, which rises to create clouds and more rain. Cutting down trees disrupts the cycle, reducing rainfall and leading to drought. Drought, of course, makes it harder to grow coffee. "When you kill the forest, you're actually also killing the rains, which is exactly what your crop needs to thrive in the long run," Higonnet says."

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and coffee farming has contributed to substantial forest loss in major growing regions. Analysts using satellite imagery, government land-use data and a forest-loss alert system estimate that more than 1,200 square miles were cleared for coffee cultivation between 2001 and 2023 in coffee areas. In regions with high concentrations of coffee operations, more than 42,000 square miles of forest have disappeared through direct clearing and indirect causes such as roads and infrastructure. Coffee is not the largest driver of deforestation—cattle ranching has a larger share—but forest loss reduces rainfall by disrupting moisture recycling, causing drought that undermines coffee production.

Read at www.npr.org