Variance in Approach Toward a 'Sustainable' Coffee Industry in Costa Rica: Perspectives from Within; Lessons and Insights

Dr. Melissa Vogt considers the influence of Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade in coffee farming communities of Costa Rica from 2009-2019.

Sustainability certifications schemes are working amongst a range of sustainability efforts, unique by their intra market location. The intentions of each certification scheme must be clarified prior to evaluation and their influence considered amongst contextually specific historic and contemporary considerations, and alongside the range of sustainability efforts.

The advantages and disadvantages, opportunities for improvement and how alternative mechanisms might improve upon or complement sustainability certification schemes are explained. An epilogue considers how prioritisation of coffee as a cash crop may align with sustainability. The influence on biodiversity, community health and income, and the possible implication of reduced coffee crop density for consumers, the market and farming landscapes is considered. How sustainability standards might better encourage more ambitious sustainability in farming landscapes is for future consideration.

Dr Melissa Vogt, MA, MPH has been interested in sustainability certifications as a method for adjusting international trade practices and mentality since 2006. She developed the Ecological Sensitivity within Human Realities (ESHR) concept for human natural-environment interactions. The concept seeks to guide development and understanding of sustainability mechanisms that influence human natural-environment interactions in coffee farming or other agricultural landscapes.