Coffee Comes From the Hotspots

This map shows the overlap between key coffee-growing regions and the 34 biodiversity hotspots – where biological diversity is richest and most threatened.

People first discovered coffee in the hotspots of eastern Africa, where many wild cousins of the domestic plant remain as an integral part of the natural forest community. The conditions required for coffee to thrive overlap with many regions around the world where conservation action is a high priority. Today coffee is grown in at least 16 of the 34 hotspots.

It has become increasingly clear that these extraordinary areas face an insidious threat in climate change. Climate change is disrupting temperature and precipitation levels in coffee producing regions and will continue to foster unpredictable harvests across the world. The effects of climate change have the potential to significantly impact both the livelihoods of coffee farmers and the broader environment.

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