Cacao boom and bust: sustainability of agroforests and opportunities for biodiversity conservation

Abstract

Cacao cultivation holds a sweet promise, not only for chocolate consumers and cacao farmers but also for conservationists who argue that diverse cacao agroforests may be used to sustain both livelihoods of smallholders and ecological benefits such as the conservation of biodiversity within human-dominated tropical landscapes. However, regional boom-and-bust cycles are the rule in global cacao production: after initial forest conversion to cacao agroforests, sustaining production is difficult due to dwindling yields as trees age and pest and disease pressure increases. The failure to revitalize plantations often leads to a shift of cacao production to other regions. Shade removal dynamics within these cycles substantially reduce most of the biodiversity benefits. We investigate the conservation implications of these processes. Using examples from the current cacao crisis in Indonesia, we show that until now commitments to sustainability by the cacao-chocolate sector have not been successful, which endangers remaining forests. Conservation can be combined with smallholder cacao production, but if this is to be achieved, greater quantitative and qualitative efforts to halt cacao cycles are needed on the part of the industry by making use of existing opportunities to combine sustainability, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation.

Structural characteristics determine productivity in complex cocoa agroforestry systems

“…Meanwhile, the global cocoa orchard covers a 10 million-ha area, and it is characterized by yield differences between plantations, ranging from 80 to 4000 kg ha −1 , depending on farmers' practices and cropping systems (Rafflegeau et al 2014). Cocoa cropping is indeed generally based on two different technical approaches: (i) an intensive model that promotes the use of selected varieties managed without shade or under homogeneous light shade, with high chemical fertilizer and pesticide inputs (Wood and Lass 2001), and (ii) agroforestry systems which represent 50 to 60% of the world cocoa orchard and where cocoa trees are associated with other multipurpose forest or fruit trees (Clough et al 2009). The associated trees provide shade to the cocoa trees, and many products to farmers (fruit, wood, leaves, medicinal barks, etc.…”

Local uses of tree species and contribution of mixed tree gardens to livelihoods in Saleman: Village near Manusela National Park, Seram Island, Maluku (Indonesia)

“…Another factor may be that access to markets to sell commercially valuable products started to get easier in the 1980s (Ellen 1997(Ellen , 1999, around the same time that new cash crops, such as cocoa, were introduced (Clough et al 2009). …”

Large scale spatio-temporal patterns of road development in the Amazon rainforest

“…This invites the question whether there are any other similar spatio-temporal patterns in the region that may drive, correlate with, or be driven by road development. Certainly, boom and bust dynamics have been observed in economic development of commodities within the Brazilian Amazon (Godfrey 1990;Macedo & Anderson 1993;Clough et al 2009) and it is known that roads are a key driver of development (Chomitz & Gray 1996;Laurance et al 2009). However, further analyses are required to assess quantitatively the degree to which waves of economic development and road development are related, in addition to looking for other qualitative and quantitative associations with road development at large spatial scales.…”