Planted coco de mer seeds germinate in Praslin National Park |18 March 2021

Coco de mer nuts in the 2020 public sale

International Day of Forests is celebrated on March 21 each year. The theme for 2021 is ‘Forest Restoration; A Path to Recovery and Well-being’.

Due to the current restriction as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) will not be organising any major event to commemorate the day as it did in the past. Despite the current health situation, SNPA continues its work in protecting and managing the country’s forests. For the occasion, the authority would like to share an interesting story that is taking place in the Praslin National Park.

In 2019, SNPA staff working in the Praslin National Park planted 10 coco de mer seeds and one year later, seven of the seeds have germinated. The team on Praslin is making some interesting discovery with this project. One of the seeds have sprouted into two plants (a rare event). The team is keeping the location of the planted coco de mer a secret for now in case they are poached.

Classified as endangered on the IUCN red list of species, the coco de mer is one of the country’s most treasured natural assets and is protected by law. It holds four world records in fruit size and weight, leaf length, and largest female flowers of any palm. Reasons why the species is classified as endangered are certain life history traits, such as, long gestation period of nuts (6-7 years to ripen) and a late age at reproduction (20-40 years to reach sexually maturity) making it difficult for the species to rebound if it becomes vulnerable.

It is the mandate of the SNPA to ensure sustainable forestry practices and this is one of the reasons why the 10 coco de mer seeds were planted. This activity was undertaken to ensure that population of the species is replenished. The SNPA sells coco de mer, which it collects from Curieuse and Praslin National Park. The collection is well regulated, making sure that some seeds are left on the ground to germinate naturally. Planting seeds is a more controlled method to properly study the process and ensure germination. Since 2017, SNPA team working in the Praslin NP collected nuts from both Curieuse Island and Fond B’Offay in the Praslin NP. Three shaped seeds were planted in March 2019. Five misshaped and five shaped ones were planted in July. The team on Praslin is very happy with the development and waiting to see if all the seeds will make it. From then they can continue to track and monitor the palms as they grow.

SNPA officer in charge of Forestry unit on Praslin said: “This is a great achievement for the park as we not only harvest the nuts but we also help rebuild our biodiversity, making sure that in the future we still have our unique Jewels. It is also SNPA’s coco de mer policy to make sure that every year the team propagate between 10-20 viable nuts.”

An ongoing coco de mer census conducted on Curieuse Island by SNPA’s research partner GVI, in 2014, counted 4591 trees. The results showed an even sex ratio between adults with over half the population (N=2476) being juveniles. Of the total population, 13% were seedlings indicating a small amount of rejuvenation. The census showed that on average, female trees on Curieuse have a trunk height 0.5m taller than male trees. This is in contrast to the Praslin populations where male trees are significantly taller than female trees.

At the moment, coco de mer is one of SNPA’s most profitable forest products. The authority sells a misshaped nut for R2500 and a shaped one for R4000. These nuts are not viable, meaning you will not be able to grow them. SNPA also sells the kernel to a licensed kernel extractor.

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