ALTO MAYO PROTECTED FOREST COOPERATIVE OBTAINS THE GREEN FROG CERTIFICATION
When visiting the facilities of the Alto Mayo Forest Coffee Cooperative – COOPBAM, one may wonder if the silhouette of the green frog that adorns its walls is emblematic of the protected natural area where this association was created. Surprisingly, the answer is no.
That red-eyed tree frog inhabits the tropical lowlands from southern Mexico to the north of Colombia, somewhat distant to the Alto Mayo Protected Forest – AMPF (northeastern Peru), yet recently connected by a cup of coffee. This peculiar frog has been, for more than 30 years, the symbol of the Rainforest Alliance, a certification that has recently been awarded to COOPBAM’s coffee, granting a label of socially, economically and environmentally ethic coffee.
This certification is a historic milestone for this cooperative and the Alto Mayo Protected Forest, as it is the only experience where the Rainforest Alliance certificate has been awarded to coffee farms located in a protected area. According to the organization’s own Sustainable Agriculture Standard, the certification requires a special risk assessment when farms are located within a two-kilometer radius of a protected area. Conservation Agreements, which have been signed with the local population for more than ten years, proved fundamental to overcome this risk. With the support of Conservation International, more than 1500 conservation agreements have been signed between the local families and the National Service of Natural Protected Areas, that have provided sustainability to the management of the area and helped reduce deforestation in 59%.
“This certification seemed impossible”, says Idelso Fernández, COOPBAM’s General Manager, still in disbelief as he recounts how difficult the process was and the different meetings they had to hold. “You can’t imagine the elation we felt, because if their norms say that it is complicated to achieve the certification in a protected area, when we achieved it as a cooperative, the joy was immense. Now we are the first organization in the world to have this certification”, concluded COOPBAM member and Conservation Agreements subscriber.
The evaluation process, audited by IMOCERT Latin America, complied Rainforest Alliance’s standards which focus on four aspects: forests, climate, human rights and livelihoods. Promoting, for example, best practices to protect standing forests and prevent agricultural expansion; promoting responsible land management methods that increase carbon storage and avoid deforestation; providing sound strategies to assess and address forced labor, labor conditions, low wages and gender inequality; and generating measurable economic benefits for local farmers.
For the current campaign, 81 farmers were certified, 10 of whom are women coffee growers, says Hugo Cahuapaza, Senior Bio Business Coordinator for Conservation International. “With Rainforest’s standards, the entire traceability of the coffee has been verified: information management, compliance with standards in the field, post-harvest, storage, processing and export. Now we can proudly say that COOPBAM will be able to export its first 80 tons certified with the Frog certification in 2024”, adds enthusiastically the specialist.
The buyer of this first lot of certified coffee is the English roaster Taylors of Harrogate, a historic company of great international recognition. In this way, the range of COOPBAM’s coffee buyers is expanding and leaving the doors open to new companies interested in lots with this certification, which translates into new sales, more profits for the cooperative and more benefits for its members and the protected forest.
The characteristic red-eyed tree frog, a biological indicator of a healthy environment in the tropical forests of Central America, now a global symbol of sustainability, will guarantee in international markets that coffee from the Alto Mayo Protected Forest is an indicator of a healthy protected area and a better future for people and the planet.