Factors Affecting the Adoption and Conservation Value of Certified Organic Coffee Production in Oaxaca, Mexico

 Tad Mutersbaugh, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Iowa

Large-scale efforts to conserve biodiversity in Mesoamerica are focused on the promotion of alternative land uses that minimize habitat disruption.  One important focus of these efforts is the promotion of market-based incentives programs such as certified organic coffee production.  We seek to identify local differences in producer responses to certified organic best practices, to understand their causes, and to examine their consequences.  Our intent is to assess (1) when, where, and why producers respond differently to efforts to promote certified organic coffee production, and (2) how these producer responses are expressed as changes in the ecological character of coffee plots.  Our immediate goal is to produce a detailed heuristic of the relationship between biodiversity conservation and the social context of coffee production.

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