Dr. Rolan Bourdeix

Dr. Roland Bourdeix is passionate about diversity….He was the first PhD student at the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) and is now known as one of the world’s experts on coconut genetics.

Dr. Bourdeix has led a number of projects and expert missions related to coconut agriculture in more than forty tropical countries. From 2000 to 2014, he worked on behalf of the Coconut Research Programme of CIRAD and the CEFE Research Unit "Bio cultural interactions" in Montpellier, France. From 2011 to 2013, he coordinated the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT), now gathering 41 coconut producing countries. In 2014, he joined the Research Unit AGAP (Genetic Improvement of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants) and its scientific team DDSE (Dynamics of diversity, societies and environments). The themes of his research have gradually evolved from genetics to a multidisciplinary approach integrating ethnology and multifunctional landscape management. To understand the diversity of crops, we need to look not only for plants but also to humans who cultivate them and their cultural specificities.

In 2005, he created the Diversiflora Publishing Corporation and released, as author, several books, including one on coconuts (http://diversiflora.blogspot.fr/). He has also given numerous public lectures on the cultural and economic aspects of the coconut tree (http://conferencecocotier.blogspot.fr/). Dr. Roland Bourdeix is also the President of Diversiflora International (http://diversiflora-international.blogspot.fr)