The district of Kodagu also called Coorg in the Western Ghats of India produces two percent of the world's coffee in complex and biodiversity-rich agroforestry systems. The expansion and intensification of coffee production has reduced the forest cover by more than 30% in 20 years. New techniques (especially irrigation) and access to agrochemical inputs have reduced farmers' dependence on environmental services provided by shade trees such as preservation of soil fertility, control pests and diseases, and maintenance of a microclimate suitable for coffee. Under these conditions, reconciling rural development and conservation of natural resources requires proactive schemes, connecting sustainable agricultural practices to payment of environmental services, coffee value addition and farm profitability. PES can take the form of a value addition scheme for goods originating from the target ecosystem. These products may derive a quality or reputation from the ecosystem and be identified by their geographical origin, whose name is registered as complex trademarks or as geographical indications. Alternatively, the products can be produced according to practices guaranteeing the continuous delivery of ecosystem services, certified via eco-labels. The study shows that none of the eco-labels are adapted to preserve the rich tree diversity of the coffee agroforestry systems of Coorg as this would require specifying a threshold of 30% of Grevillea Robusta, a condition far beyond the standard of Utz or Rainforest Alliance. On the other hand, a GI specifically tailored for Coorg could also include biodiversity-friendly practices adapted to local context, especially to deter the increasing trend of managing mono-specific exotic canopy cover. Yet, GIs are mainly seen as relevant for specialty coffee with high organoleptic qualities, which is not the case of Coorg Coffee, and explains the choice for trademarks registration, with no specification regarding cultivation of coffee.