Birds are only one indicator of the role that coffee plays in protecting biological diversity. Ongoing studies of insects, canopy trees, orchids, and amphibians show that coffee plantations are often critical refuges protecting forest species where there is no longer any forest. In Costa Rica, insect diversity in shaded coffee rivals that found in lowland rainforest areas. More Than Just a Hill of Beans Shade coffee presents a tremendous opportunity for both conservation and economic gain, in that such a relatively benign form of agriculture has been and continues to be so significant an economic engine for the Latin American and Caribbean region. It is primarily grown by families on small farms.
Coffee is the third most common import in the U.S., behind oil and steel, respectively.
In dollar value, coffee is second only to petroleum as the most important legal export commodity in the world. Revenues exceed 10 billion dollars per year. It is the second largest source of foreign exchange for developing countries around the world and is particularly important for Latin America and the Caribbean, where it is the leading source of foreign exchange. When New Isn't Necessarily Better Productive sun coffee cultivation requires chemical inputs and year-round labor, placing financial demands and the need for credits on the growers. Conversion to sun coffee appears to lead to greater soil erosion, acidification, and higher amounts of toxic run-off.