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Mexico City, September 27, 2004 -- “Instead of destroying productive land, coffee cultivation is now an engine of conservation. Instead of slash and burn, we are conserving biodiversity,” said U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, addressing businessmen and coffee growers at a Starbucks café. “The partnership model we are honoring today is the business model of the future.”
The Ambassador launched the Conservation Coffee Alliance today when the U.S. government signed a memorandum of understanding with Conservation International (CI) and Starbucks Coffee Company to collaborate for biodiversity conservation, economic support for small-scale coffee farmers and sustainable production of high quality coffee in Latin America. Over three years, the U.S. government will provide $1.2 million and Starbucks $1.5 million to fund the Alliance.
Along with the ambassador, representatives from Chiapas coffee cooperatives joined the President of Starbucks Coffee Company Orin Smith for the signing ceremony in a busy Starbucks coffee shop. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean Adolfo Franco took part in the ceremony along with the Vice President of Conservation International, Glenn Prickett.
The Alliance brings to community-level conservation efforts a “field-to-cup” approach that includes all aspects of producing, processing and marketing specialty coffee. Through economic incentives and technical assistance to small farmers, the goal of the Alliance is to expand the areas of coffee fields using the best practices for conservation and making more high quality green coffee available to roasters. Building on the success of a six-year partnership between Starbucks and CI, the Alliance will focus on projects in Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama.
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