Coconut Palms for Sustainable Energy and Development

摘要

Existing coconut palms (cocos nucifera) provide a large sustainable resource for food, energy, timber, fiber and numerous other products. Most of this resource is currently wasted, yet it could give a strong basis for practical rural development in tropical countries. Exportable products pay for processing plant and biomass energy systems. Because coconuts bear monthly and are harvested year round, they can provide continuous sustained processing and energy supplies with minimal storage requirements. Coconut economics are thus far more robust than seasonal food processing. Effective use of all coconut resources with regular replanting could increase local revenues ten fold reducing the pressure to exploit fragile resources of neighboring reefs and tropical rainforests.