Vietnam is currently the world\u2019s second largest coffee producer<\/a>, supplying nearly 40% of the world\u2019s exports of Robusta coffee<\/a> (Coffea canephora).<\/p>\n The investigation, which analyzed satellite data and government records, found that tropical forest cover in Vietnam\u2019s Central Highlands region, which produces 95% of the country\u2019s coffee, plummeted from 42.8% in 1990 to just 19% by 2020.<\/p>\n Forest loss was most rapid between 1995 and 2010, and stabilized at low levels in the 2020s, the investigation found. Much of the remaining tropical moist forest is now confined to \u201csteeper, less accessible terrain, often at higher elevations and within formally designated protected areas,\u201d the Coffee Watch\u2019s report notes.<\/p>\n Historically, government policy and international development financing<\/a> incentivized the rapid expansion of coffee in the Central Highlands, according to Coffee Watch. The ecological cost has been severe, the nonprofit adds, resulting in fragmented habitats, accelerated soil erosion and a \u201cnutrient treadmill\u201d where farmers must use increasing amounts of fertilizer to maintain yields in exhausted soils.<\/p>\n The Coffee Watch report notes that forest loss has affected water flow and recharge, soil stability and moisture, carbon storage and pests in the Central Highlands. It warns that 50% of Vietnam\u2019s robusta belt could become unsuitable for coffee owing to the added impacts of climate extremes such as rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.<\/p>\n Ly Thi Minh Hai, Vietnam country director at the international environmental nonprofit RECOFTC<\/a>, who wasn\u2019t involved in the report, told Mongabay by email\u00a0 that historically, \u201ccoffee expansion was indeed one of the major drivers of forest loss in parts of the Central Highlands\u201d. She said, however, that the coffee sector is now shifting focus toward \u201cimproving the productivity, resilience, and sustainability of existing coffee-growing landscapes\u201d rather than further expansion.<\/p>\n Minh Hai agreed that climate change is putting increasing pressure on coffee production in the region and that coffee farmers there need help to adapt to the pressures of climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cThis entails rejuvenating or replanting aging coffee plantations and introducing intercropping (such as shade trees) to avoid monoculture; adopting climate-smart and regenerative farming practices; improving water-use efficiency; and helping farmers boost yields and income from existing plantations rather than expanding into natural forests,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n RECOFTC is currently working with local communities to promote agroforestry and secure forest tenure, which provides an essential foundation for preventing further encroachment, Minh Hai said.<\/p>\n \u201cVietnam\u2019s coffee sector should not be defined by the deforestation challenges of the past,\u201d she said. \u201cThe future of Vietnam\u2019s coffee sector will not be measured by how much land we cultivate, but by how well we manage the landscapes we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image of a coffee landscape in Gia Lai province, Central Highlands, Vietnam. Image courtesy of Stef vnmq via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>).<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784758030_442_07799caa7cb21fcc7a5a3924abeb83cbd823d2475a9b7f7441f9db8cd14f391f.png\")
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