In biodiversity hotspots like Vietnam\u2019s Central Highlands, wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, adorable flying squirrels, and delicate saola<\/a> (sometimes referred to as the \u201cAsian unicorn\u201d), have been squeezed into ever\u2011smaller fragments of habitat, or just plain wiped out. Communities are losing the very ecosystems that sustain them, and this destruction is largely happening so the world can enjoy cheap robusta in instant coffee, capsules, and mass\u2011market blends.<\/p>\n Vietnam\u2019s rise as a coffee superpower is often framed as a rural development miracle, but the truth is far darker. Smallholder farmers, who grow the vast majority of Vietnam\u2019s coffee, are trapped in a system that rewards expansion into forested land and punishes sustainable farming. They face volatile prices, limited agronomic support, deep poverty, and widespread child<\/a> labor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be clear: this is not a development story. It\u2019s an extraction story about global supply chain built on local sacrifice.<\/p>\n Our investigation found that 207,428 hectares<\/a> (512,566 acres) of tropical forest were cleared between 1990 and 2024 in areas now used for coffee production. In just one generation, coffee has driven the loss of one\u2011third of the forests in the Central Highlands, where 95% of Vietnam\u2019s coffee grows. Undisturbed forest there fell from 2.49 million hectares (6.15 million acres) in 1990 to 1.61 million hectares (3.99 million acres) in 2024. Forest cover dropped from 42.8% of the region in 1990 to 19% by 2020, stabilizing only because, our satellite mapping shows, there is now so little forest left to kill.<\/p>\n Vietnam\u2019s forests have been trashed so that multinational companies could keep prices low and profits high. What\u2019s more, as a Mongabay commentator<\/a> stated, nearly 70%<\/a> of tropical forest loss linked to forest\u2011risk commodities, including in Vietnam between 2013 and 2019, was illegal.<\/p>\n The environmental cost is staggering: Vietnam\u2019s forests aren\u2019t just home to endangered species found nowhere else on Earth, they also regulate water cycles, stabilize soils, and buffer communities against climate shocks. When the forests fall, everything downstream begins to unravel. Rainfall goes haywire<\/a>. Aquifers dry up<\/a>. Rivers start to die<\/a>. And crops, including coffee, start to fail.<\/p>\n Disturbingly, our investigation shows that the consequences of past deforestation linked to coffee are growing, not shrinking. Coffee thrived because of healthy forests, fertile soils, and stable water systems. Yet decades of deforestation and unsustainable farming eroded<\/a> those natural foundations, putting the future of coffee itself at risk. Basically, by savaging Mother Nature, coffee has bitten the hand that fed it.<\/p>\n Now, climate change is accelerating threats: scientists warn that half of the global area<\/a> suitable for growing coffee could disappear by 2050 (with similar trends in Vietnam<\/a>) if its farming does not shift toward climate\u2011resilient, agroecological methods \u2014 pretty much the exact opposite of the current Vietnamese pesticide-soaked monoculture model, which turbocharges vulnerability<\/a> to climate chaos.<\/p>\n If coffee fails across the Central Highlands, impoverished farmers will likely just move to other forests<\/a> and clear them, too<\/a>. But though scientists all agree on the forecasts, and have rung the alarm loud and clear, the industry still seems to think climate change is just a rumor started by people who don\u2019t drink enough espresso.<\/p>\n Global buyers have perfected the art of looking the other way \u2014 a skill honed over decades of sustainability commitments that somehow never require them to make any meaningful change. We see biodiversity death-spiraling and forests that regulate water, stabilize soil, and buffer communities against climate shocks being bulldozed for short\u2011term profit.<\/p>\n Companies would say, \u201cDon\u2019t worry. It\u2019s fine. Who are you going to trust, me or your lying eyes?\u201d The industry assures us everything is OK because they planted a few shade trees somewhere and took a photo for their annual sustainability report. Coffee companies love to talk about sustainability so much they\u2019ve turned it into a performance art of certifications, pilot projects, and glossy brochures.<\/p>\n These are very impressive until you realize the forests are still disappearing. Traceability? Patchy. Agroforestry? Rare. Living\u2011income prices? Practically mythical. Pesticide reduction? Mostly aspirational. Investment in climate\u2011resilient farming? Shockingly low.<\/p>\n The industry knows what needs to be done. It simply refuses to do it.<\/p>\n This is not just Vietnam\u2019s problem. It\u2019s the world\u2019s problem, because global demand for coffee created the incentives that drive this destruction.<\/p>\n Consumers deserve honesty. They deserve transparency. And they deserve coffee that doesn\u2019t come with a side of ecological collapse. Most people drinking their morning brew have no idea their daily habit may be contributing to forest loss thousands of miles away. They wouldn\u2019t dream of ordering a latte with a dead tiger or elephant on the side.<\/p>\n But once they know the truth, they can demand better. They can choose brands that commit to traceability, agroforestry<\/a>, and deforestation\u2011free supply chains. They can pressure<\/a> problem companies that abuse people and planet.<\/p>\n Vietnam\u2019s forests are irreplaceable. The world\u2019s coffee industry must stop treating them as expendable.<\/p>\n If companies won\u2019t act voluntarily, regulators must force them. And if regulators fail, consumers must hold them accountable.<\/p>\n Cheap coffee is never cheap: someone or something always pays the price. In Vietnam, that price is forests, wildlife, farmers, and the future of farming itself. The era of cheap coffee built on forest destruction must end. Now.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Etelle Higonnet\u00a0is the founder of Coffee Watch and a member of VOCAL, a new coalition for sustainable coffee.<\/p>\n Banner image: Vietnam\u2019s coffee market provides a livelihood for over 600,000 smallholder farmers. Image courtesy of Quinn Mattingly\/Panos Pictures\/Unfold Stories.<\/p>\n See related coverage:<\/p>\n Deforestation-free supply chains in Vietnam rely on working with small scale farmers (commentary)<\/a><\/p>\n Agroforestry grows in popularity among central Colombia\u2019s coffee farmers (analysis)<\/a><\/p>\n Vietnam faces dilemma on forests as climate change threatens coffee crops<\/a><\/p>\n Citations:<\/p>\n Byrareddy,\u00a0V., Kouadio,\u00a0L., Mushtaq,\u00a0S., Kath,\u00a0J., & Stone,\u00a0R. (2021). Coping with drought: Lessons learned from robusta coffee growers in Vietnam.\u00a0Climate Services,\u00a022, 100229. doi:10.1016\/j.cliser.2021.100229<\/a><\/p>\n Hai,\u00a0P.\u00a0S., Hien,\u00a0P.\u00a0D., Nghia,\u00a0N.\u00a0H., Dao,\u00a0N.\u00a0M., Trung,\u00a0P.\u00a0Q., Lan,\u00a0N.\u00a0T., & Thang,\u00a0L.\u00a0X. (2025). Deforestation and land use changes impact soil organic carbon stocks in the central highlands of Vietnam.\u00a0Journal of Soils and Sediments,\u00a025(10), 2887-2895. doi:10.1007\/s11368-025-04131-6<\/a><\/p>\n Bunn,\u00a0C., L\u00e4derach,\u00a0P., Ovalle Rivera,\u00a0O., & Kirschke,\u00a0D. (2014). A bitter cup: Climate change profile of global production of arabica and robusta coffee.\u00a0Climatic Change,\u00a0129(1-2), 89-101. doi:10.1007\/s10584-014-1306-x<\/a><\/p>\n Bhattacharya, S., & Nair, R. (2024). Adverse impact of climate change on coffee business in Vietnam.\u00a0International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management,\u00a07(7), 164-167. Retrieved from https:\/\/journal.ijresm.com\/index.php\/ijresm\/article\/view\/3140<\/a><\/p>\n Cite this articleEtelle\u00a0Higonnet (2026). Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam\u2019s priceless tropical forests (commentary). Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.66709\/news-325233<\/a> <\/p>\n ![\"Typical](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1733edit-768x512.jpg\")
Typical landscape in Vietnam that\u2019s suitable for growing robusta coffee. Image by Michael Tatarski for Mongabay.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coffeecup2-683x512.jpg\")
Your daily coffee, especially if it\u2019s of the instant or supermarket variety, can have a very high cost for Vietnamese communities, wildlife and forests. Image courtesy of Lotus Head via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n![\"Trieu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vietnam-smallholder-coffee-2-768x512.jpeg\")
Some Vietnamese farmers like Trieu Thi Chau in Cu Sue Village, Dak Lak Province, practice the sustainable agroforestry technique of intercropping, where coffee plants are interspersed with other types of trees and crops. Image courtesy of Quinn Mattingly\/Panos Pictures\/Unfold Stories.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/af12bf65d24c9b6677fa5125044ed939da883258caf322b3fed185af87dcf4ab.png\")
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