Future of coffee in doubt as 60 per cent of plants now at risk of extinction

Coffee drinking is in danger after a new study found that 60 per cent of plants are now at risk of extinction, including the variety which produces most of the world’s beans.

Researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, have found that 75 of the world's 124 wild coffee species are under threat from the loss of forests, climate change and the worsening problem of fungal disease and pests.

They include wild Arabica, a species from Ethiopia that has been cultivated to provide 60 per cent of the multibillion-pound global trade in coffee.

Coffee farmers, who grow either Arabica or Robusta coffee, have already begun to report their crops being affected by changing weather patterns, rising temperatures and new pests and diseases.

Dr Davis, lead author of the study said: "What we're saying is 60 per cent is just really high, that's a real wake-up call. For a major global commodity, that starts ringing alarm bells.

"It's a tragedy losing any wild species, whether it's a bird or plant or animal, that's bad enough.

"But when you've got a crop that supports the livelihoods of 100 million people just in production in coffee farming, then you look at value of high street coffee chains and supermarket coffee, it's enormous."

In a study published in Science Advances, scientists assessed wild coffee species against the extinction risk criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Of the varieties threatened with extinction, 13 species are in the most at-risk category of critically endangered, while 40 are endangered and 22 vulnerable to extinction.

Fewer than half of the wild coffee species are held in seed banks or living plant collections and more than a quarter (28 per cent) are not known to occur in any protected areas, the scientists also warn.

Kew's head of coffee research Dr Aaron Davis warned: "If you start to lose these species the options for developing resilient coffee for the future diminishes very rapidly."

Researchers called for increased conservation in the natural environment as well as in seed banks and plant collections, and urged support for the African countries where most wild species are found to help them protect their coffee resources.

The level of risk for coffee is much higher than for plants as a whole, with an estimated 22 per cent of plant species worldwide threatened with extinction.