The Coffee and Primate Conservation Project was initiated in 2012 to conserve the Javan gibbon Hylobates moloch and its habitat in the western Dieng Mountains, Central Java, Indonesia. The project has developed a sustainable conservation scheme by promoting shade grown coffee as a commodity to improve livelihoods and involve the local community in gibbon conservation. It is located in the c. 81 km2 Petungkriyono forest in the Dieng landscape, which has the highest recorded density of the Javan gibbon (2.5–7.6 individuals/km2), with a total population of c. 881 (Setiawan et al., 2012, Biodiversitas, 13, 23–27). Coffee production, although on a small scale, has been a useful way to promote the Javan gibbon amongst consumers in both local and regional markets. Owa Coffee is recognized locally as a sustainable commodity that also has a wildlife conservation message. In regional markets, this gibbon friendly coffee has been promoted in collaboration with Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Since 2016, export of the coffee to Singapore has raised USD 10,000–15,000 annually to support community conservation activities in Petungkriyono forest and its surrounding villages through participation in coffee production and forest protection. Owa coffee now brings pride and motivation to the communities, as they recognize the added value brought by the Javan gibbon to the commodity they produce.
However, since March 2020 the coffee supply chain has been disrupted by the uncertain market conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the closure of a cafe in Singapore that was one of the most important Owa Coffee outlets has resulted in a decline in demand for the coffee. With conservation funds from the export of the coffee no longer available, there have been impacts on community development activities that relied on the project. Typically, communities working with agroforesty have the capacity to survive such situations by relying on the food commodities they produce themselves. However, in this case the cessation of coffee sales has had an impact on the income of the local community. From this experience, the Coffee and Primate Conservation Project has recognized that it is important to consider the choice of agroforest commodities based on their resilience and to reduce dependency on a single commodity. Other forest products will need to be developed that have added conservation value.
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