The sea coconut is listed as endangered in the Red Book. Conservationists have joined the people of the Seychelles to protect this particular plant.
“The Coco de Mer coconut tree has become a favorite cultural and ecological symbol of the Seychelles,” says Katy Beaver, an archipelago botanical expert who has been studying this rare tree for many years, said.
The Coco de Mer, also known as the sea coconut or the double coconut, is an endemic plant species of the archipelago, with the largest and heaviest seeds in the world. The special shape of the sea coconut tree seed also attracts a lot of attention.
Have ability to be extinct
Appearing in many legends and folklore, this plant grows naturally on only two of the Seychelles’ 115 islands, including Praslin, the second largest island in the country after Mahé, and the nearby Curieuse.
Currently there are only about 8,000 mature trees, sea coconut is listed as endangered in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Special shape and size of the seed of the sea coconut tree – coco de mer. Photo: AFP.
Coco de mer is very diverse, it has separate male and female plants. They can take up to 50 years to mature to breed, depending on environmental conditions. The slow growth rate has contributed to the endangered species of the species.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the black market for nut shells thrived, leading to widespread poaching in protected areas. Other threats include wildfires, erratic rainfall caused by climate change and pests and diseases.
Now, conservationists have joined the islanders to protect the sea coconuts. Under a program launched in the summer of 2020, residents have been invited to apply to plant up to five coconut seeds per person in their gardens. Dr. Frauke Fleischer-Dogley, Executive Director of the nonprofit Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), the program’s initiator in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (MACCE), for Previously, many farmers had to steal seeds from the nature reserve to bring home to plant themselves.
The new plan is hoped to give islanders the opportunity to legally plant coco de mer and preserve them for the future. “Planting coco de mer in private land gives Seychellois a joint ownership of the species,” she said.
The female coco de mer tree on Praslin Island has many seeds. Photo: Alamy.
Since 1978, the sale of coco de mer seeds has been controlled by license. Anyone who grows the tree, or sells seeds, must be registered with the MACCE. Each tree seed is numbered and tracked. Even coco de mer seed pods, sold to tourists for between 5,000 and 6,000 Seychellois rupees ($ 230-275), must also come with a permit.
At this price, nearly 100,000 Seychelles residents have no access to the coco de mer tree. The seeds sold as a souvenir cannot be grown either because the kernel inside the shell has been removed and processed separately for sale in East Asia, where it is believed to be an aphrodisiac.
“We think the planned distribution of seeds will stop the incentive to steal them,” said Dr. Fleischer-Dogley. The seeds will be taken from the Valleé de Mai and the Fond Ferdinand Nature Reserve (also managed by the SIF), where about 50 fallen pods are harvested each month.
The core inside the coco de mer seed shell is specially prepared for sale in East Asia, where it is believed to be an aphrodisiac. Photo: AFP.
Under the program, SIF requires residents to submit an application on a detailed form and pay a fee of 500 rupees of Seychellois seeded on their own land.
Farmers must also meet some criteria. Since large trees will reach a height of 7.5 to 10.5 m, the area of planted land should reach a minimum of 10×10 m per seed. SIF staff will come to evaluate each parcel to determine if the applicant is eligible to plant trees, and how many seeds can be planted. They must also make sure poachers cannot access the planting site.
The largest seed in the world
“Initially, we thought the demand would be about 30 counties. But the response far exceeded expectations. By the end of the December application deadline, the SIF had received 104 applications for 422 counties, ”said Dr. Fleischer-Dogley.
The slogan “We can prevent the theft of coco de mer seeds” on the island of Praslin. Photo: AFP.
94 of the applicants were from the Mahé coup, 7 from Praslin and three from La Digue. Since the program’s inception, SIF has conducted 60 garden surveys. All were successful, but in some cases the number of seeds had to decrease due to lack of space or poor soil quality. To date, 66 seeds have been planted on 26 plots.
In December of February20, the remaining surveying and seeding trips were halted due to limited movement due to Covid-19.
Alix Esparon planted coco de mer seeds on his land in Mahé, together with Ronny Rose from SIF, in October 2020. Photo: SIF.
Since germination will take several months, SIF staff will check the planted seeds after 6 months. “We not only record the number of plots from the cadastral map, we also record the GPS coordinates where each seed is planted,” said Fleischer-Dogley. If there is one seed that does not sprout, we can exchange another seed for the people if they want.
The slow growth of the sea coconut tree means that not all growers can see their coconut tree mature. “This is a very long term project,” says botanist Katy Beaver.
Coco de mer shells are displayed in a souvenir shop at Seychelles International Airport, Mahé. Photo: AFP.
Lindsay Chong Seng, head of the Seychelles Plant Conservation Action group, added: “This program will increase the population of coco de mer, which is very beneficial in terms of biodiversity. It will help turn coco de mer into a cultural highlight without destroying its habitat. “In the long term, it could reduce the pressure on the last remaining wild coco de mer forests on Praslin Island.”
However, the challenge remains. “Most of these palms live in isolation from their natural habitat, where pollination takes place without assistance. So, artificial pollination will be necessary and will have to be timed, ”said Beaver.
Coconut shell coco de mer sculpture outside a post office on the island of Mahé, Seychelles. Photo: AFP.
Currently, the people of Seychelles who are planting coco de mer on their land are very happy. Heather Adams and her husband, artist Michael Adams, recently planted 5 seeds on their campus in Mahé. Heather hopes all five seeds will sprout. “I’m sure generations to come will cherish them,” she said.
You must log in to post a comment.