Ministry of Environment and Energy
Press Release: Ministry urges complete Coco de Mer registration
Thursday 8th November 2012
Poachers, intent on destroying the Vallée de Mai, hacked down 41 Coco de Mer nuts in a single night recently.
In the largest single attack on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, 41 green nuts were cut down and removed from the Fond Peper area of the site.
Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) – which manages the Vallée de Mai and Seychelles’ other World Heritage Site, Aldabra – believes the theft to have been the work of an organised group.
With the approximate weight of a green Coco de Mer nut being between 9kg to 14 kg, the raid, which took place on Sunday, October 28th, would have taken a number of people several hours to carry out.
The financial value of the stolen nuts is believed to be in excess of SR600,000. Of far greater importance is the ecological impact of the theft, which has deprived the forest of many decades of Coco de Mer nut growth and significantly dented forest rejuvenation in the area targeted.
A Coco de Mer nut can take up to seven years from pollination to be ready to fall to the forest floor and an average 25 years to reach reproductive maturity, making the loss of 41 nuts a significant blow to the survival of the species.
Amongst the nuts stolen were several specimens which formed part of an ongoing project to research the little-understood of the Coco de Mer biology, the results of which are now in jeopardy.
Following the theft a number of police operations have been conducted on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, in which Coco de Mer were seized. Among those arrested as a result are three businessmen, who have been released on bail pending formal legal charges. The theft has also prompted the Ministry of Environment and Energy to issue an ultimatum for the registration of Coco de Mer trees and nuts.
Every person who has a Coco de Mer tree growing on their property is requested to declare this to the Ministry of Environment and Energy at Fond B’Offay, Praslin or Botanical Gardens, Mahe. Those having up to 25 trees must make the declaration by 30thNovember 2012 and those having more than 25 trees must make the declaration by 31st December 2012. The declaration should include the number of female trees, male trees, juvenile trees, seedlings and geminated seeds. It should also include the number of mature nuts in their possession. Members of the public are also informed that it is an offence to make a false declaration to an environment officer.
The Ministry is also reminding all licensed Coco de Mer dealers to ensure that they have a valid Coco de Mer dealer license on display where they are selling Coco de Mer nuts and that failure to do so will result in prosecution. The Ministry is informing all people who own a Coco de Mer, but do not have a tag for it, that they must declare it to the Ministry of Environment and Energy at Fond B’Offay, Praslin or Botanical Gardens, Mahé, by November 30th. Upon declaration, that person will have to provide the Ministry with details as to where and how the nut was obtained and pay SR350 for a tag and permit.
The Ministry would like to inform members of the public that it is an offence to be in possession of Coco de Mer nuts without an original tag and permit or to sell Coco de Mer nuts without a valid Coco de Mer license. It is also an offence to be in possession of or trade in Coco de Mer kernel without authorization from the Ministry.
The ban on the trade in Coco de Mer kernel which was introduced in response to a series of poaching incidents earlier this year remains in force.
For more information please contact:
Juliana Legaie- Ministry of Environment and Energy
Tel: 2723506
Marc Jean Baptiste- Seychelles Island Foundation
Tel: 2535255
With Thanks,
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