SPUR Project

2010 winner (6 of 19)

Biomass resource assessment of Tuvalu's coconut (Cosus nucifera) woodlands

Supervisor: Sarah Hemstock, Matthew Edwards (Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences)

The flat low-lying islands of Tuvalu (Central Pacific) make this tiny nation the most exposed to climate change impact. The lack of access to adequate, affordable, reliable, safe and environmentally benign energy is a severe development constraint. Tuvalu's copra (dried coconut flesh) market collapsed in 2002, leaving a surplus of unused coconuts.

It is anticipated that 15% of fuel imports could be replaced by using this surplus from existing coconut woodland to produce coconut biodiesel and an income for subsistence farmers. In order to ensure viability in terms of resource sustainability, the student will undertake a biomass resource assessment of Tuvalu's coconut woodlands to establish baseline data to be used by Alofa Tuvalu and the GoT Department of Agriculture. This will be used to devise a coconut woodland regeneration program, with the objective of supporting the coconut biodiesel component of the wider Small is Beautiful sustainable development project, which was selected as one of UNESCO's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Remarkable Actions and is currently being implemented by the NGO's Alofa Tuvalu and Themba Trust.