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End of Arabica? 60% of coffees at risk of extinction

At least 60% of wild coffees are threatened with extinction due to loss of forests and climate change, scientists have warned.

The worsening problem of fungal disease and pests is also behind the problem affecting 75 of the 124 types of wild coffee.

Those threatened include the species behind one of the world's most popular beverages, researchers at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew have found.

Wild Arabica, a species from Ethiopia, has been cultivated to provide 60% of the multibillion-pound global trade in coffee.

It is now assessed as being endangered largely as a result of climate change.

Wild coffee crops are thought to support the livelihoods of 100 million people in farming alone.

Agriculture and other human activities are affecting their populations, as well as rising temperatures which alter the specific climatic conditions they need to thrive in.

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