This practice note examines how climate change is threatening coffee-growing regions in Costa Rica, specifically the Coto Brus region. By 2050, absent adaptation measures, experts project that climate change will reduce the global areas suitable for growing coffee by about 50% (Bunn et al. 2015). The case study outlines key …
WHILE Coffee addicts might be able to brush off the ill-effects of caffeine on health for lack of clear evidence, they will find it harder to digest the fact that growing consumption of coffee is causing serious damage to the environment. Escalating demand for coffee might be directly responsible for …
IN SPITE of stringent laws and regulations, illegal timber trade is flourishing in South American Countries. Investigations carried out by the Amsterdam-based Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) in Brazil, Cameroon and Paraguay have revealed that rampant illegal logging not only continues to threaten sustainable forest management, but also creates …
A BEETLE known as tpe coffee borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the major insect pest bothering the coffee growers of the world today. Together with some other close relatives, the creature leads what -by normal standards -can be called a strange life. The cycle begins and ends with a single female …
Women keen on motherhood are being advised to cut down their intake of coffee. A study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University in the US found that women who consume 300 mg of caffeine a day, roughly three cups of coffee or eight sodas per day, reduce their …
IS CAFFEINE, which is present in tea, coffee and coke, harmful to pregnant women and foetuses? Although there have been indications to the contrary, a recent Canadian study has found evidence that expectant mothers who take caffeine before and during pregnancy may run a greater risk of foetal death (Journal …
THE WITHDRAWAL of USA -- the largest consumer of coffee -- is unlikely to invalidate the International Coffee Agreement, which aims at stabilising coffee prices for the benefit of both consumers and producers. Sufficient importing members have already agreed to the pact. Though the loss has been acknowledged to be …
