Coconut Ecomuseum

To view the objects in our personal collection, please visit the dedicated website. These objects are available exclusively for rental or acquisition by ecomuseums.

Projects Overview (Listed by Descending Start Date)

Cooperation programme for protection and valorisation of coconut in French Polynesia, led by CIRAD (France) in partnership with the Directorate of Agriculture of French Polynesia (DAG) and the Institut Louis Malardé, during the period 2023-2026, with public territorial and national financing aimed at epidemiological surveillance, pest biocontrol, and conservation of local Polynesian coconut varieties.
Cocopest Knowledge Portal for digital pest management, initiated by CABI (United Kingdom) and the International Coconut Community (Indonesia) during the period 2021-2022, with contributions from international experts to provide open-access database on coconut phytosanitary protection.
International coconut genome sequencing and assembly initiative, coordinated by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) in major collaboration with CIRAD and INRAE (France), during the period 2017-2021, resulting in the publication of the reference genome sequence enabling significant advances in varietal improvement facing climate change.
Clonal propagation of coconut via somatic embryogenesis project, conducted by KU Leuven University (Belgium) in partnership with Alliance Bioversity International-CIAT and IRD (France) through specific collaborations on cryopreservation, during the period 2019-2021, funded by university and international grants to secure multiplication of elite varieties.
International initiative for maintaining the COGENT network (International Coconut Genetic Resources Network), piloted by ICC and Bioversity International with strong technical involvement of CIRAD (France) for restructuring gene banks, during the period 2018-2023, funded notably by ACIAR (Australia) and partner funds.
TROPICSAFE project focused on insect-borne diseases in tropical crops (including coconut lethal yellowing), coordinated by the University of Bologna (Italy) with active participation of CIRAD (France) and 21 other international partners, during the period 2017-2022, with a budget of €4 million via the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme.
Coconut Industry Development for the Pacific (CIDP) programme, implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) with technical expertise from CIRAD (France) for the training and pilot projects component, during the period 2016-2018, financed at €4 million by the European Union to boost the sector in small island states.
Sustainable Certified Coconut Oil (SCNO) project for sustainable coconut oil production in the Philippines and Indonesia, led by GIZ (Germany) with private partners including BASF and Cargill, during the period 2015-2019, co-financed by the German federal ministry BMZ to improve smallholder incomes through certification.
Development of the coconut industry in the Caribbean, executed by the ITC and CARDI with scientific support from regional and European partners, during the period 2015-2019, financed by the European Union (€3.5 million) to improve competitiveness and climate resilience of the coconut value chain in the CARIFORUM region.

General Analysis

Central Role of CIRAD: The French Agricultural Research Institute for Development (CIRAD) emerges as the primary European institution involved in structured coconut research and development initiatives over the 2015-2025 decade, participating in multiple international projects spanning genomics, genetic resources management, disease management, and value chain development across Pacific, Caribbean, and African regions.
Genome Research Breakthrough: The international coconut genome sequencing initiative (2017-2021) represents a milestone achievement through French-Chinese collaboration, with CIRAD and INRAE providing crucial expertise. This breakthrough has enabled advances in understanding coconut genetic diversity and supporting breeding programs for climate resilience, addressing one of the core challenges for the sector.
Limited European Academic Institutions: Beyond CIRAD and INRAE, relatively few European universities have been directly engaged in dedicated coconut research projects. KU Leuven's tissue culture work (2019-2021) stands out as a significant biotechnology contribution, while the University of Bologna's TROPICSAFE coordination (2017-2022) and University of Nottingham's diagnostic development work represent specialized technical contributions rather than broader breeding or genetic improvement programmes.
Concentration on Disease and Pest Management: The majority of European-supported initiatives focus on phytosanitary challenges, particularly lethal yellowing disease and insect-borne pathogens (TROPICSAFE), and emerging pest management platforms (Cocopest). This reflects the urgency of controlling economically devastating diseases affecting coconut production in tropical developing regions.
Value Chain and Sustainability Focus: Several projects (SCNO, CIDP, Caribbean Development) prioritize value chain development, market access, and sustainable production certification rather than genetic improvement per se. This pragmatic approach addresses immediate livelihood needs of smallholder producers while building institutional capacity in partner countries.
Fragmented Funding Landscape: Coconut R&D initiatives receive funding from diverse sources including EU Horizon 2020, European Development Fund, bilateral development agencies (GIZ, ACIAR), international organizations (ITC, SPC), and national governments, but lack a coordinated European research strategy comparable to other tropical crops such as cocoa or banana.
French Overseas Territories as Research Hubs: CIRAD's work in French Polynesia and historical involvement in Caribbean coconut development indicates that French overseas territories and former colonies serve as platforms for coconut research capacity building and variety conservation, particularly relevant for safeguarding endemic and locally adapted genetic resources.
Limited Integration of Modern Breeding Technologies: While genomics research has advanced significantly, the application of genomic selection and advanced breeding methodologies in coconut remains underdeveloped compared to other crops. Only the tissue culture initiative at KU Leuven represents a concrete deployment of modern biotechnology for coconut propagation, suggesting a gap between knowledge generation and practical breeding applications.

The Cocos Island shown in this Mallet engraving (1683, Description de l'univers, Volume IV, figure CXIII) corresponds to Tafahi, a small volcanic island in the Tonga archipelago, in the South Pacific. It sits right next to Traitors' Island, now identified as Niuatoputapu, also in the Northern Tonga group. Both names originate from the Dutch expedition of Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, the first Europeans to visit these islands between April 21 and 24, 1616. The name "Cocos Island" (Cocos Eylandt in Dutch) comes from the abundance of coconut palms observed by Schouten and Le Maire's crew upon arrival, while "Traitors' Island" (Verraders Eylandt) was so named after an incident considered hostile or deceitful by the local inhabitants during contact with the Dutch crew. These place names were later adopted and disseminated in 17th-century European atlases and travel accounts, including Mallet's, which compiles the discoveries of Dutch navigators in its section on the Southern Lands.

Exact position within the Tonga archipelago

Name on the Mallet engraving Modern name Location

Cocos Island (I. Cocos) Tafahi Northern Tonga, about 9 km north of Niuatoputapu

Traitors' Island (I. des Traitres) Niuatoputapu Northern Tonga, South Pacific Ocean

The engraving itself reflects this exact configuration: Cocos Island is shown in the foreground on the left (a conical, forested mountain typical of Tafahi's volcanic profile), while Traitors' Island appears to the right, in the background, separated by a stretch of sea where the ships are anchored — faithfully matching their real-world position, with Tafahi being a small isolated island just north of the larger Niuatoputapu. This is therefore neither the Costa Rican Cocos Island in the eastern Pacific, nor the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, but rather these two Tongan islets in the South Pacific, immortalized by the 1616 Le Maire-Schouten expedition.

In the past, Niuafo'ou Island, was the most famous island among Polynesians regarding varieties of coconut palm. But what remains of it today?

Niuafo'ou, the coconut-shaped island

The oldest description of coconut varieties in French Polynesia can be found in the book "Ancient Tahiti" by Ms. Teuira Henry, published in 1928. This book was based on oral narrative material recorded by John Muggridge Orsmond. Orsmond passed away before finishing the work so his granddaughter, Teuira, translated his recordings into book form. Its collection of oral records includes legends and chants that were told by priests, bards and other natives of Tahiti.

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, changes in agriculture and industrialization.

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 was said to mean "New coconut". According to M. Keti Takitaki-Pulukamu from Fiji, the meaning of the name is even "Many 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.

It is extremely surprising to note that the Tahitians, more than a century ago, knew this variety of Niuafo'ou, yet located nearly 2800 km from Tahiti! This shows how famous was the Niuafo'ou coconut variety among the Polynesians.

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.

Two maps of the Niuafo’ou Island,
one dated 1896 and the other recent.

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 a different dialect is spoken are named Niuafo’ou (Many new coconut) and Niua Toputapu (Many sacred coconut).

Aerial view of the lake in Niuafo'ou Island

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.

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Other notes.

On Niuafo‘ou, the Fotofi li lineage was established as governors in the seventeenth century (Bott 1982:96,112-13), and Fotofi li is still today the highest aristocratic title on the island. The history of the founding of this title was recalled for the Niuafo‘ou people by Queen Sālote in a dance poem, ta‘anga lakalaka, which she composed for her visit in 1927:

Tō e folofola mei mu‘a
Fakahā ki Fonuamotu tokua
Ke ‘ave ha taha ‘o nofo fonua
‘O tauhi ‘a e motu ko Niua

The royal command given from the past ahead
Advise Fonuamotu, so it is said,
Send out a resident
To govern Niua.

(Tupou III 1927)

R.Bourdeix, section DPP Tonga - Niuafo'ou