A traditional genebank disapearing in the Aratika atoll?

In 2009, in the framework of a research project leaded by CRIOBE and funded by IFRECOR (French initiative for coral reefs), we had the opportunity to interview Mr. Vairaaroa Howaerd, Mayor of the Fakarava district of the Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia.

He told us that, on the atoll of Aratika whose mayor is a native, there is a Motu called “Tapu”. This Motu was exclusively planted with a Kaipoa variety (the fibrous envelope of the coconut is sweet and edible). A rahui (set of traditional rules with a sacred dimension) was regulating the exploitation rights of the motu. Thus, everyone was entitled to collect coconuts on the motu "Tapu", but not to make copra. For each harvested coconuts, residents were required to clean the vegetation growing at the base of the coconut palms, cutting with a machete or an axe, without using the technique of weed burning.


Notwithstanding its sacred dimension, this rahui is akin to management rules for a conservatoire of traditional coconut varieties. Polynesians have empirically used numerous small isolated islands to conserve and breed their coconut varieties. The geographical remoteness of the islets has ensured the reproductive isolation of the coconut palms necessary for variety fixation. Once planted in a limited number on a remote island, coconut palms only crossed with each other and it became possible to create new varieties. Then, by taking seednuts from those isolated islands, the ancient Polynesians were able to reproduce, in an empirical but stable manner, the coconut varieties they had created.
Indeed, people who took seeds on Motu Tapu were assured that those seeds replicate the variety they wanted. Unfortunately, in the 1980s, a series of hurricanes has greatly damaged the coconut palms. Motu Tapu was partly replanted with hybrid coconut trees. People who go to the motu Tapu to collect seeds will not get pure Kaipoa variety anymore. The traditional genebank is now threatened with extinction and not as effective as in the past. Following this interview, our recommendation was to avoid planting coconut hybrids in Polynesian islets. Islets should be devoted to the conservation of traditional varieties and to the conservation of biodiversity in a broader sense. Polymotu will consolidate the knowledge about traditional Polynesian genebanks.

Five motu of Tetiaroa to conserve traditional varieties

We had the pleasure of receiving a letter from the association « Te Mana O Te Moana ".


This letter confirms the agrement of the family of Marlon Brando and the Company Pacific Beachcomber SC for the integration of five small motu (islets) of the famous Tetiaroa atoll in POLYMOTU project.
Each of the 5 small motu will conserve a distinct Polynesian coconut variety.
The varieties to be conserved in Tetiaroa will probably be: a medicinal variety; one or two sweet husk varieties; the rare horned coconut; the moro ati (most of the fruits dry as copra before falling from the palm); or the niu kafa, (enormous and long fruits serving to make ropes in the past, and appreciated as a drink). The final choice will depend on stakeholders’ needs, the results of genetic analyses, and the availability of the seednuts. In order to find parent palms of the traditional varieties to be conserved, we will search for places where a sufficient amount of palms of the same variety are planted together. for more information about Polymotu and Tetiaroa, see the blog: http://coconut-tetiaroa.blogspot.com/

A lesson from ancient (and some contemporary) Polynesians

Before 1000 AD, the Polynesians had settled in central Polynesia (Tahiti and the Society Islands), the Marquesas, Hawaii and Easter Island (Orliac, 2000). Since that time, the coconut palms became an integral part of the Polynesian way of life. The Polynesians have patiently bred coconut palms adapted to different uses, notably by successively planting their coconut palms on new islands. They contributed to the creation of numerous varieties, with spectacular morphological diversity as shown in picture.


The oldest description of coconut varieties in French Polynesia can be found in the book "Ancient Tahiti" by Teuira Henry, published in 1928 from data collected by her grandfather in 1840. That publication mentions 16 different varieties or forms of the coconut palm. Coconut varieties, which have been passed down from generation to generation of islanders, are now under threat from the globalization of trade, cultural levelling, industrialization and changes in agriculture.
Teuira Henry indicated the existence of particularly enormous coconuts growing the island of Niu-Fou (now known as Niuafo'ou). The name itself of this island means "New coconut". Niuafo'ou is a tiny island in the Tonga group, with an area of 52 sq. km. The distance to the nearest island is 200km. It is a very active volcano that slopes steeply down to the sea floor. Given its unusual geography, Niuafo'ou was named « Tin can island », because a strange way of receiving its postal communications was adopted. The mail was cast into the sea in a tin box and recovered by men in pirogues.There is no safe anchorage for boats. The repeated eruptions of volcano (1867, 1886, 1912, 1929, 1935-36, 1943, 1946, 1985) caused the destruction of many plantations and villages. Following the eruption of 1946, Niua-fo'ou was evacuated and the government authorized the return of the islanders only in 1958. The two islands in Tonga were different dialects are spoken are named Niuafo’ou (New coconut) and Niua Toputapu (Sacred coconut).

Another place famous for its coconuts is Rennell, a high volcanic island located in of the Solomon archipelago, with an area of 660 sq. km. Its two main features are its volcanic lake, now registered as a world heritage, and its Polynesian population, when other Solomon Islands are mainly populated with Melanesians. Except the small island of Bellona, also populated with Polynesians, the distance from Rennell to the nearest island is 170 km.

The fruits of the variety known as Rennell Island Tall (RIT) are among the biggest coconuts in the world. The fruit shape is quite variable, from oblong to pear shaped. Some of the fruits have a long nipple at the bottom, which is very specific to the RIT. The fruits have a good composition with a high content of solid albumen and free water (see picture 3). Numerous seednuts were collected from different locations in the Rennell Island and sent to other countries. The Rennell Island Tall cultivar (RIT) is now conserved in at least 11 germplasm conservation centres, national and international. RIT is involved as parental material in many coconut breeding programmes.
M.A. Foale, who visited the Rennell Island in 1964 and discovered this variety, said that the true-to-type Rennell, with big and pointed fruits, is found only around the volcanic lake on the eastern part of the island. The access from the coast to the volcanic lake is very difficult. It is needed to climb a rocky track with a hard slope, in a forest stuffed with endemic species of poisoning snakes (Laticauda sp., but to be confirmed as villagers do not anymore mention it). But in other places, such as the coastal area, there is a mix between the Rennell Island Tall and the ordinary type, known as the Solomon Island Tall, which has smaller oblong fruits.
As far coconut varieties are concerned, Niuafo'ou and Rennell are the most famous islands in the Pacific region. Similarities between these two islands are hudge. They are both very isolated small islands, at a distance of 170-200 km from the nearest big island ; They have both additionals and successive factors of insulation : difficulties to access by boat, harsh slope to climb to reach the place where grow the coconut palms, risks linked to high volcanic activity or endemic poisoning snakes.
Another example of famous « coconut » island is quite different. In the 2000’s, we visited numerous Pacific island in the framework of surveys organized by Bioversity International (formerly IPGRI). L. M. Fili and T.H. Hoponoa, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Tonga, tell us about the traditional coconut variety called «Niu 'utongau ». This variety belongs to rare forms of coconut, highly threatened, and known as « Sweet husk ». In most coconut, this husk is harsh and not edible. But sometimes, the whole husk of the young fruit is sweet and can be chewed like sugar cane. Its taste resembles that of coconut heart. Once the fruits are ripe, the husk fibres are white and particularly slender. There exist various names and various types, in which husk characteristics are more or less accentuated. Those varieties have yet to be scientifically described. The «Niu 'utongau » coconut variety can be found in quantity only on the small coral islet of Onoiki in the Ha’apai group. Tongians are still sometimes taking seedlings from that islet, which is so small that it does not appear on most maps.

Various observations made since the turn of the century also show the same tendency. The most remote islands are often those where coconut diversity has best been conserved (Labouisse and Bourdeix, 2003). Polynesians have empirically used numerous small islands to conserve and breed their coconut varieties. The geographical remoteness of the islets has ensured the reproductive isolation of the coconut palms necessary for variety fixation. Once planted in a limited number on a remote island, coconut palms only crossed with each other and it became possible to create new varieties. Then, by taking seednuts from those isolated islets, the ancient Polynesians were able to reproduce, in an empirical but stable manner, the coconut varieties they had created.

Letters of support from Cogent and the Global Crop Diversity Trust







Both the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network and the Global Crop Diversity Trust have provided letters of support to the Polymotu project.

Polymotu and the Global Coconut Conservation Strategy


COGENT (the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network) had conducted several consultations on the conservation and use of coconut diversity to assist coconut growing countries to develop a progressive conservation strategy.


The Global Coconut Conservation Strategy is now available on line. This strategy was reviewed during a meeting gathering genebank managers, international experts and the COGENT Steering Committee in December 2007. The strategy aims to optimize the conservation of as much representative diversity as possible in the most cost-effective manner for the short, medium and long term.

The Polymotu approach was included in the global coconut strategy, as shown in the following extracts:

Page 16:

"A new conservation strategy, which involves planting of single coconut varieties on small islands, serves both conservation and breeding purposes. The geographical remoteness of the islets will ensure isolated reproductive systems that are needed for true-to-type breeding, avoiding the use of the costly technique of controlled pollination. This strategy includes both in situ and ex situ conservation – an Indonesian Islet, for instance, could be planted either with a local variety or a Polynesian variety."

Page 20:

"Promoting conservation through use by supporting national coconut breeding efforts in a globally coordinated breeding programme; testing new approaches to conservation such as the use of islets for in situ conservation as well as for breeding and seed nut production; linking with research activities to serve as platform for the utilization of conserved diversity; and developing catalogues of conserved germplasm and farmers’ varieties, high-value products and coconut food recipes, and other public awareness materials to increase coconut consumption.




Motu (coral islands) born from a coconut palm !

Location of Tuamotu Archipelago
Par R. Bourdeix and Tehira (C.A. Tshonfo), 2011

During 2009, the IFRECOR (French Initiative for Coral Reefs) and CRIOBE (Island Research Centre and Observatory of the Environment) funded a scientific survey on the atoll of Fakarava, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia.

You can click on photos and maps to enlarge them.



Location of Fakarava Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago

The objective of this survey  was to conduct an inventory of coconut varieties and assess the potential conservation of traditional varieties on the many small motu (coral islands) of the atoll.

Fakarava, Havaiki-te-araro, Havai'i or Farea is  is the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls.
Fakarava map and location of a small motu
The shape of Fakarava Atoll is roughly rectangular and its length is 60 km and its width 21 km.

Approximatively 700 inhabitants are living here. Fakarava  is among seven atolls that have been grouped together as part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) global network until October 2008.

Precise location of a small motu
At the time, Mr. Cyril Tshonfo Ayee said Tehira was president of the Association of the Biosphere Reserve of the Municipality of Fakarava. He welcomed us with great hospitality and he gave us a great deal of valuable information. We also took a boat to visit the numerous motu of the attoll. One of the smallest of the motu was particularly interesting...

Tehira indicates that for the Polynesian, a motu is defined as a small island on which vegetation grows. A rock or a sand without vegetation are not motu. According Tehira, in many cases, "it is the coconut tree which creates the motu." Tehira said and have seen over the years, some sandbanks become small motu.


bird on a coconut seedling strongly carenced
The photographs illustrate the various stages of this process.

Coconuts brought by sea germinate on a sandbar that has not yet stabilized.

Then the birds come to rest on the palms. Their feathers or their droppings, the birds carry seeds that are deposited on the sand around the coconut. Bird droppings enrich the soil.

Detailed view of the motu
In most cases, a single coconut tree manages to survive to adulthood. Gradually, vegetation grows at the foot of a coconut tree. The roots of the coconut palm and other plants help to establish and maintain the sandbank.

We observed this small motu with only one adult coconut palms. This motu is located at 750 m from another motu where 20 to 30 adult coconut palms are growing. According to the main direction of the  wind and to the 750 m distance, it is very improbable that the coconut pollen can reach this motu. Studies conducted in Africa have shown that a 300 m distance is sufficient to obtain a high reproductive isolation.

The unique coconut palm of the small motu was bearing 9 fruits bigger than a fist. On the ground at the basis of its stems, 15 coconuts were counted. 13 of these coconuts looks  the same shape, and we think that they originates from the unique adult palm of the motu. Some of theses coconuts, when they were shaken, made the usual sound of normal mature nuts containing a normal amount of coconut water.


"Family relationships" between islands ?

In the future, we would like to try to develop a concept « Family relationship » between the small islands used for conservation purposes in the Framework of the Polymotu project. 

For instance, once a coconut variety is isolated in a small island, it becomes quite cheap and easy to transfer this variety to another small island, possibly for instance less endangered by climate change, for safety duplication and use. 

So, both from the biodiversity and the allegorical points of view, the first island will become a kind of the “mother” of the second one. We are searching for Polynesian or islanders traditions using such a concept of family relationship between islands, but up to now we did not find such legends. If you find, please tell me...