ENSCONET : The European Native Seed Conservation Network La Red Europea para la conservación de semillas silvestres Simon Linington Seed Conservation Department, RBG Kew, Wakehurst Place, Sussex, UK

What is Seed Conservation? Use of seed storage for ex situ (off-site) plant genetic resource conservation Very efficient form of ex situ conservation Collections underpin in situ (on-site) conservation and act as a usable resource

Threatened European native vascular plants One of best studied floras – species Among the world’s most threatened floras 21% species are threatened 50% endemics ‘in danger of extinction’ Much genetic erosion at population level

ENSCONET Project Purpose Improved quality, co-ordination and integration of European seed conservation practice, policy and research for native plant species - to assist EU conservation policy and its obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Mejorar la calidad, la coordinación y la integración de las practicas de conservación de semillas en Europa, las legislaciones y la investigación sobre la plantas silvestres, Participar en la política de conservación de la CE y sus obligaciones en respecto a la convención sobre la diversidad biológica y la estrategia global de conservación de plantas.

ENSCONET Project Purpose 19 European institutions 16 with seed banks for native species; 3 with associated interest Seed banks range in experience: 2 months (Lombardy Seed Bank, Pavia) 40 years (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid) Local, national, regional remits DisparateCo-ordinated DisparCoordinados Bring together isolated activities and institutions to maximum effect

Basic ENSCONET information A Co-ordination Action funded under the Research Infrastructures Activity of EU Framework Programme 6 (comprises 18 Integrated Infrastructure Initiatives and 3 Co- ordination Actions) Grant of € 2.54 m plus significant institutional ‘in kind’ support November 2004 – November 2009 Co-ordinated by RBG Kew

History 2001Application for Thematic Network under EU Framework Programme 5 (unsuccessful) 2002Preparation for application under FP Application for Co-ordination Action under FP 6 (successful) 2004 Preparation and signing of contract with Commission. November start

European native plant conservation context Berne Convention (Bern 1982) –Conservation of European wildlife and natural habitat Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio 1992) –Conservation of biological diversity –Sustainable use of biological resources –Equitable sharing of benefits  National Biodiversity Action Plans – e.g. UK 1994 EC Directive 92/43/EEC (Brussels 1992) –Habitat and species conservation directives

European native plant conservation context EU 6 th Environment Action Programme (2001) –To 2010 –Biodiversity Action Plans European Plant Conservation Strategy (Průhonice 2001) –Halt loss of wild plant diversity in Europe Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (Hague 2002) –16 targets for 2010 including (viii) 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery and restoration programmes  National reports e.g. Plant Diversity Challenge, UK 2004

European native plant conservation context Recent European recognition of the importance and loss of biodiversity –Gothenburg European Consul (2001) –Kyiv Resolution (2003) –Killarney Declaration (2004) –Countdown 2010 (2004)

European native plant conservation Some key players National government agencies Planta Europa European Botanic Gardens Consortium National botanic garden networks BGCI IPGRI (crop wild relatives) National seed bank networks REDBAG – Spain RIBES - Italy Regional seed bank network - GENMEDOC Individual seed banks Organisations with interest in seed conservation

ENSCONET Participants Austria Belgium Cyprus France Greece (2) Hungary Ireland Italy (3) Poland Slovakia Spain (5) UK New members (5)

ENSCONET Participants Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK (Co-ordinator) University of Athens, Greece Institute of Botany, Bratislava, Slovakia Budapest Zoo & Botanic Garden, Hungary Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Greece Jardin Botánico de Córdoba, Spain Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Jardin Botánico Viera y Clavijo, Gran Canaria, Spain Agricultural Research Institute, Lefkosia, Cyprus Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Meise, Belgium Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France Universita di Pavia, Italy Universita di Pisa, Italy Jardí Botànic de Sóller, Mallorca, Spain Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento, Italy Universitat de Valencia, Spain University of Vienna, Austria Warsaw Botanical Garden, Poland

Organisation of ENSCONET Management Team Annual Network Meeting External Arbiters Collecting Activity Group Curation Activity Group Data Management Activity Group Dissemination Activity Group Progress reports Proposals for future actions Co-ordination of Activity Groups Progress monitoring Links to European conservation & research communities

Management Team 1 st Meeting Wellcome Trust Millennium Building, Wakehurst Place, Sussex, UK – 3 March 2005

Collecting Activity Group Output Development of integrated seed collecting programmes (all European bio-geographical regions) for native plant species of conservation and sustainable use value Bio-geographical regions Atlantic Continental Alpine } Boreal } Macaronesian } Mediterranean }

Collecting Activity Group Leader / Deputy – Jardin Canario / Chania Deliverables B aseline of species held in European banks Prioritised list of species for collection Prioritised seed collection programme developed for the 6 bio-geographical regions Common, high standard of seed collecting adopted - maximises genetic diversity / seed longevity

Curation Activity Group Output Enhancement of quality and security of seed conservation for native species within Europe through improved curation achieved by sharing of expertise / facilities

Curation Activity Group Leader / deputy – Warsaw / Trento Deliverables Baseline documentation on facilities available Agreed common protocol - maintain genetic diversity / seed longevity and overcome dormancy Co-ordinated programme for (1) sharing facilities (2) dissemination of information / good practices among participants (3) duplicate storage - enhance quality / security of seed conservation Regionally-based research programme established - improve quality and security of work

Data Management Activity Group Outputs A virtual European seed bank for wild-collected native species through integration of collection data held by ENSCONET partners Easier access to seed collections by researchers across Europe and improved use of electronic data relevant to seed conservation

Data Management Activity Group Leader / deputy – Dublin / Chania Deliverables Common data exchange standards / tools adopted - facilitate data integration Protocol for recording seed germination data adopted Data management system with relational database structure to support consistent data entry / control in developing banks Virtual European native species seed bank

Dissemination Activity Group Output Provide seed conservation managers, researchers, policy makers and other relevant representative organisations with information and understanding of ENSCONET’s work and its results

Dissemination Activity Group Leader / deputy – Valencia / Chania Deliverables Dissemination policy and programme Website and e-forum Knowledge and technology from ENSCONET activities available in printed form

The Vision for ENSCONET Plays a key role within European conservation activity and particularly the delivery of the GSPC Links well to related initiatives, groups and databases Influences policy Develops into a long-lasting and wider network Actuar un papel clave a dentro de las actividades de conservación Europeas y en particular en la entrega de la Estrategia Global de Conservación de Plantas (EGCP) Establecer buenas conexiones con las iniciativas, los grupos y las bases de datos relacionados Influir en las legislaciones Desarrollar una red mas amplia y durable

Acknowledgements The European Commission The ENSCONET participants Dr Monique Henry (Project Co-ordinator Roger Smith, Clare Tenner & Steve Alton The Fundación Areces Professor Esteban Hernández Bermejo