Any
coconut-producing country can become a member. COGENT currently has 39 member
countries that are divided into five sub-networks: Southeast and East Asia
(China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam); South
Asia and Middle East (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sultanate of Oman and Sri
Lanka); South Pacific (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu); Africa and the Indian Ocean (Benin, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles and
Tanzania); and Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Trinidad-Tobago).
At present there
is no membership fee. To apply for membership an authorized government official
has to write to :
Executive
Director or Cogent Coordinator –International
Coconut Community – email : icc@coconutcommunity.org
In order to
formally become a COGENT member, individual countries should:
1.
Nominate a country representative from an organization that is
engaged in coconut research and allow him/her to attend COGENT meetings as
needed; and to coordinate COGENT-supported projects in the country;
2.
Commit to support the cost of the representatives’ coconut
research activities in the national programme;
3.
Commit to exchange and/or provide information on coconut genetic
resources held in the country, particularly information on diseases of unknown
etiology or pest recurrences;
4.
Commit to provide access to its germplasm and participate in the
mutual exchange of coconut germplasm either for conservation or multi-location
variety trials subject to mutual agreement with other member countries and with
COGENT and BIOVERSITY;
5.
Commit to participate actively in studying the diversity of
coconut germplasm in the country, and conserve, protect and maintain the
diversity at the country’s own expense, with possibilities for partial external
support as components of COGENT-endorsed projects and activities.
1.
Access to germplasm information from other members. COGENT’s
international coconut germplasm database (CGRD) contains the passport and
characterization data of coconut collections of member countries. By accessing
the database, breeders will be able to identify germplasm from a wide genetic
base which could be used in breeding work;
2.
Access to coconut germplasm, subject to mutual agreement and the
ability to move material safely;
3.
Access to new technologies;
4.
Opportunities for coconut researchers to attend training
courses, conferences and workshops organized by COGENT;
5.
Opportunities to join collaborative research activities;
6.
Increased security of germplasm collections through
collaborative conservation efforts.