Conservation and use of coffee genetic resources in Ethiopia: challenges and opportunities in the context of current global situations

Coffee is the second most important exported commodity on earth, next to oil, so what are the appropriate management options in ensuring this genetic resource is sustained? This paper seeks to answer this question by studying the case of Ethiopia, making the assumption that managing the remaining forest as gene reserve is taken as the appropriate management option to achieve this aim. Ethiopia is studied as it is the only centre of origin and diversification of Arabica coffee which accounts for ninety per cent of the world coffee market, and about seventy per cent of the production.The study reports some efforts which are being taken in Ethiopia to sustain genetic conservation, the environment and farmers livelihood through introducing appropriate management practice. The specific objectives of the study are to:classify the forest into different zonesdevelop management and monitoring strategies for each zonegenerate recommendations on the conservation and sustainable use of coffee and other forest resources in the context of current local and global context.The paper concludes that:managing the environment and natural resources lies in the hands of the community who is directly dependent on the resourcesfor a sustainable development to be a reality, it is essential that the market value takes into consideration both environmental and social aspects in the economic development agendaeconomic development should target at maintaining a better environment and quality of life for people than benefiting only giant corporate companies at the expense of the environment and the majority of the world communityThe following recommendations are made for the coffee growing areas of the southwest Ethiopia:optimal management strategies in other forest areas studied and designed that are similarly important for coffee gene conservationimplementation of the research recommendations by the national government and the federal state of Oromia as soon as possible, important to save the remaining coffee genetic pool and the natural resources sustainablysupport farmer organizations like OCFCU in campaigns to search for better market in consuming countries and involve them in the conservation programspricing based on certain quality criteria which take into account the environmental sustainability and the shear number of people benefiting from the productsupport local initiatives by international community to implement programs which improve the management of natural resources conservation and usesupport the implementation of the 2001 International Coffee Agreement of the ICOBranding of coffee based on quality criteria such as environment, conservation and societal benefits