Good news from Roland Bourdeix of CIRAD. His idea for a new approach to the conservation of coconut genetic resources has taken a first important step. Roland wants to find uninhabited, isolated islets around the world and plant each one with a single coconut variety. Think of it: no maintenance costs, no expensive controlled pollinations to preserve the genetic integrity of each population, seednuts whenever you want them. Ok, of course there are drawbacks, but given the costs and difficulties of maintaining conventional coconut field genebanks, it’s worth a try. Roland calls it the Polymotu Project.
Well, Roland now tells us that he has his first islets. Marlon Brando’s family and their company Pacific Beachcomber SC has made available 5 islets from its Tetiaroa atoll. A different Tahitian variety will be conserved on each. As Roland says: “il nous reste encore 45 îlots et vallées à trouver…” Good luck!