Abstract

Coconut – A Key Contributor to Sustainable Development in Pacific Island Countries

by Philip Hall, Karen Faerber,
and Lawrence Ang (Australian National University)
28 August 2007

As global issues such as climate change and the dependency on fossil fuels become dominant factors in considering viable strategies for sustainable economic development, Pacific Island countries need to look more closely at innovative ways to exploit their natural resources.

One such natural resource that is in widespread abundance throughout the Pacific region is the coconut; commercial farming and copra production have long been solid contributors to the economies of many Pacific Island countries. However, a significant number of coconuts are not of commercial grade or even harvested at all, and as such they are a wasted resource – or a resource not realised.

With the current focus on the impending impacts of global climate change, the volatility of world oil prices and supply, and the renewed call for the wider adoption of renewable energies, a number of Pacific Island countries are now experimenting with the production of coconut bio-fuel as an alternative to imported diesel fuels on which they are heavily reliant as their primary source of energy. Unfortunately, the impetus for this experimentation is the immediate economic vulnerability of Pacific Island countries to world oil prices and supply rather than a carefully considered strategy to achieving long term economic sustainability and development.

This paper looks at the physical, chemical, environmental and geographical characteristics of the coconut, its current commercial and non-commercial uses in the Pacific region, and proposes that the coconut has significant potential as a low-cost resource and alternate material to support not only bio-fuel production but also a wider range of economically viable industries.

This paper also suggests that by exploring innovative ways to fully exploit the coconut, particularly low-grade and surplus coconuts – with minimal or no waste – this abundant and renewable resource has the potential to play a much more strategic role than it currently does in the sustainable economic development of Pacific Island countries.