Small Cardamom—Precious for People, Harmful for Mountain Forests

Abstract

Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is a valuable source of income for numerous resource-poor farmers inhabiting the East Usambara Mountains in Tanzania. Notwithstanding, the primary forests in these mountains also have the highest ratio of endemic flora and fauna per 100 km2 of all biodiversity hotspots in the world. Cardamom cultivation, under current growing practices, is radically changing the composition of the forest, thus threatening the endemic species within the forest. A comparative analysis of cardamom-growing practices, problems, and opportunities in the traditional cardamom-producing country, India, and in the world's largest cardamom producer, Guatemala, showed that deterioration is a common denominator. On-farm research, conducted as a complement to the project, demonstrated that organic cardamom could be profitably grown in homegardens. By implementing agro-forestry systems, the harmful impact of cardamom cultivation on the forests might be dramatically reduced.