Billionth Seed Banked on International Biodiversity Day

The Millennium Seed Bank marked International Biological Diversity Day on 22 May with Barry Gardiner, the UK Government's Minister for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs. The Minister led an official ceremony to mark the banking of the MSBP's billionth seed, which was presented to the UK's Chancellor, Gordon Brown, on 26 April.

Banking the billionth seed in the vaults of the Millennium Seed Bank, Barry Gardiner, said:

"I'm delighted to be here today to mark the banking of the billionth seed in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. It is an amazing statistic, and an achievement to be really proud of.

"The Millennium Seed Bank must be one of the most significant conservation projects ever. It is a global insurance policy against the loss of uniquely valuable plant species through land pressures or dangerous climate change".

Current predictions estimate that many plant species may become extinct as a result of climate change, the theme of this year's International Biological Diversity Day. Kew's Millennium Seed Bank already contains the seeds of more than 18,000 wild plant species from 126 countries with duplicate collections in partner seed banks world wide. This includes 88% of the total UK flora, including those facing the most threat from climate change. By 2010, 10% of the world's wild flowering plant species (totalling 30,000 species) will be banked, with priority given to those that are endangered, endemic or of current local use or potential economic use.

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: "Climate change is a long-term threat to biodiversity and to human well-being. The Millennium Seed Bank is a long-term response to this threat."

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank has the capacity to store seeds from half of the world's wild plant species, and each one of these seeds has the potential to become a plant. Despite its achievements and enormous potential for future conservation, the project has limited funding post 2010. Given adequate funding, Kew's Millennium Seed Bank Project, working with its international partners, aims to have collected and banked seed from 25% of the world's plant species by 2020.

Visitors to the Millennium Seed Bank can learn more about the project and the importance of conservation on Bank Holiday Monday 28 May, when expert Paul Smith will be on hand to answer questions.

Paul, head of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, will be in the Orange Room at 11.30am -12.30pm and 1.30pm - 2.30pm to talk to visitors. At 3.00pm in the seminar room, Paul will then give a presentation, explaining the work of the seed bank, why the conservation of seeds is so important and what the threat to plant diversity means to the future of our environment.

All events are free of charge; however, places at the presentation are limited and tickets must be collected on arrival at the visitor centre.