372 veces visto
  • The “Incorporation of biodiversity into the coffee sector” project was one of the cases highlighted in the 5th Colombian Biodiversity Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

At the end of this 2014, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC)’s work on biodiversity conservation was recognized by the UN.

The “Incorporation of biodiversity into the coffee sector” project, implemented by the FNC and the UN Development Program (UNDP), with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), was one of the cases highlighted in the 5th Colombian Biodiversity Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“At the UNDP we are very happy and satisfied with the work we have done with the FNC. This project is one of the four cases highlighted in the report on the country’s biodiversity,” Jimena Puyana, sustainable development officer at the UNDP in Colombia, said.

“All the institutions that took part voted for the FNC project to be highlighted. We see it as a milestone and an example showing that incorporating biodiversity into production processes is a win-win practice for an economic activity,” she added.

Although the report does not compare biodiversity work in the coffee sector with other farming sectors or crops, Puyana stressed the importance of the FNC’s efforts to improve its environmental performance. “Because it knows that in the end this will benefit coffee growers, farmers and the country as a whole,” she noted.


What the project is about

The project aimed at environmental and biodiversity conservation in coffee regions, contributing to local populations’ livelihoods and generating global environmental benefits.

  • It began in 2010 in 13 coffee municipalities of Valle del Cauca, Quindío and Nariño (in 2013 it reached 16 municipalities).
  • About 18,000 farmers, technicians and decision makers benefited.
  • 31,134 coffee hectares were certified and/or verified with the project’s support.
  • Over 1,000 hectares of Landscape Management Tools were planted with over 500,000 trees of 264 native species.
  • 10,304 ha of forest remnants were benefited with increased connectivity. All these actions were supported through over 400 contracts with private owners.

A vital element for coffee farming, water has been the project cornerstone. For that purpose, two Payment for Environmental-Hydrological Services (PES) schemes were designed and implemented, favoring water conservation through streams and water sources enriched with species of high biological value and global importance.

Under the PES scheme in the Toro river basin, in the municipality of Ansermanuevo, Valle del Cauca, 60 water conservation agreements were signed with farmers for reducing coffee production wastewater by 55% and compensating 143 hectares of Landscape Management Tools.

In an innovative way, the project implemented a hydrological PES scheme with the Nariño power plant CEDENAR.

The whole project was certified by ICONTEC, the national standardization authority, under the “Program for Compensation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” the first in the country using native species, offering fixation of 9,475 tons of carbon dioxide by 2015, of which 7,017 tons have already been purchased through certified offsets. The money paid for each certificate is directly transferred by the FNC to the beneficiary coffee growers.

Training and social capital building activities are still underway, with over 17,879 producers, technicians and decision makers served, contributing to social and environmental sustainability of the country’s coffee sector.

These results show that incorporating biodiversity into a strategic production sector such as coffee contributes to development and sustainability.