Seed Conservation

It has been predicted that some 25% of the world's plant species could be condemned to extinction over the next 50 years. What can we do to prevent this?

In situ conservation in the form of reserves and national parks is the most important of all species conservation tools because it protects whole ecosystems in which species interact and depend on each other for their survival and development. However, the protected areas of the world cannot hope to conserve all species, and even where whole ecosystems are protected they are vulnerable to the effects of political instability and natural disaster.

Ex situ conservation of seeds is a complementary approach, and as such has some useful advantages. Perhaps the most important of these is that it represents an efficient and cost effective way of conserving individual plant species; seeds occupy little space, and they require relatively little attention. In addition, due to the portable nature of seeds, their storage can easily be duplicated in different places, thereby limiting their vulnerability. Seed collections also represent an extremely useful research resource from which elements of species behaviour and ecology can be elucidated, and crucial information for plant conservation obtained.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has been conserving seeds from wild plants since 1974, but with the start of the new Millennium Seed Bank Project in 1997, Kew's efforts to provide safe storage of seeds from the world's wild plants have been greatly increased. The Millennium Seed Bank currently holds the largest and most diverse collection of wild species in the world, including 90% of the UK flora. With focus on the drylands, the aim is to collect and conserve 10% of the world's flora, some 24,000 species, by 2010, as well as the remaining part of the UK seed-bearing flora. The international seed collecting will be done through international collaboration. The species targeted include species at risk in the wild and species of most utility to man. By storing at least 10% of the world's flora under optimal conditions, the Millennium Seed Bank and its partner banks will act as a substantial genetic asset, which insures humanity against the loss of these species.

Seed samples from the Millennium Seed Bank will be made available to restore degraded lands, reintroduce species into the wild and restock depleted populations, thereby helping to conserve natural habitats and ecosystems. Furthermore, many of the seeds stored in the Millennium Seed Bank will have unforeseen potential, and will perhaps one day find use as medicines, foods, fuels or fibres through research.

Perhaps most importantly of all, through its bilateral agreements and programmes, the Millennium Seed Bank Project will facilitate collection, study and conservation of seed in partner facilites around the world. The germplasm stored in the Millennium Seed Bank and the other banks world-wide will be made available to the international scientific community, and the Project will become a world focal point for ex situ conservation research.