Kew banks against climate change
15 October 2009
The BBC has today published an excellent article on climate change and the need to conserve genetic diversity, as Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank celebrates its first milestone in a project to protect all endangered plant species: having already, amazingly, succeeded in collecting seeds from 10% of the world’s wild plants.
Professor Stephen Hopper, director of the RBG Kew, writes, “There is no technological reason why any plant species should become extinct. It is simply a question of priorities.”
Kew’s Seed Bank is a global partnership, the largest of its kind, and has been described by David Attenborough as “perhaps the most ambitious conservation initiative ever”.
The partnership aims to secure the safe storage of 25% of the world’s plants by 2020, with a focus on those most threatened by climate change.
Bags of Change is proud to be neighbours of Kew Gardens.
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