Save seed and prosper
In 2009, the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) - a network of 120 partners in 54 countries - hit its first target of collecting and banking seed from 10 per cent of the world's wild plants in just 10 years. That success is testament to the power of the partnership and makes us confident we can achieve still more in the next 10 years: by 2020 we will have seed from a quarter of all the world's wild plant species in safe storage.
Our priorities are useful species and plants most threatened by changing climate - those from drylands and islands, mountains and coastal regions - and from parts of the world where there are large gaps in our collections. The MSBP isn't only about safeguarding seed for the future but about helping solve some of the world's most pressing problems through the use of plants.
Kew's Breathing Planet Programme (pdf) | Help Kew: Adopt a seed for £25
The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
Today, 60,000 to 100,000 species of plant are faced with the threat of extinction. Plants provide the air we breathe and clean water, and we all rely on plants for food. The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) aims to save plants worldwide with a focus on plants most at risk and most useful for the future.
By 2020, our aim is to secure the safe storage of seed from 25% of the world’s plants.
Why Kew saves plants
All life on Earth depends on plants. They are the basis of ecosystems in which all animals, including humans, live, survive and grow. They also provide vital ecosystem services, such as producing the oxygen we breathe, removing carbon dioxide from the air and purifying water. Kew's scientists travel to many countries where valuable ecosystems are under threat.
Collecting seeds
Collecting high quality seeds for long term conservation needs to be carried out carefully. Thorough preparation is essential.
The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership collects the seed of plant species under threat and from habitats at risk around the world. Here you can discover more about how we collect seeds in the field and prepare them for safe-keeping.
Saving seeds in the bank
Conserving seeds through the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership provides an important insurance policy for the future of the world's plant life.
The seeds we conserve are increasingly used in the restoration of global habitats. The reintroduction of plant species will become increasingly important as the effects of climate change and other human impact events become more marked. Kew, and other botanic gardens worldwide, are uniquely placed to enable these efforts.
Our projects and partners
Conservationists at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank work with a network of international partners to save seeds worldwide and safeguard plant life for our future.
Saving seeds
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Science & Conservation news
Mapping the Harapan Rainforest - how we did it
by: Jenny Williams, GIS team blog 24 May 2012
Find out how Kew's GIS unit used remote sensing and field work to produce vegetation maps for the Harapan Rainforest Project.
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Launching the UKOTs Online Herbarium
by: Sara Barrios, UK Overseas Territories team blog 22 May 2012
We are bringing the unique and amazing plants that grow in the UKOTs, including those from the Caribbean, a little closer to you in celebration of International Day of Biological Diversity. Just a shame we can't bring the Caribbean weather too!
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World's smallest waterlily brought back from the brink of extinction at Kew
18 May 2010
Kew’s top propagation ‘code-breaker’, horticulturist Carlos Magdalena, has cracked the enigma of growing a rare species of African waterlily. The 'thermal’ lily (Nymphaea thermarum) is believed to be the smallest waterlily in the world, with pads that can be as little as 1 cm in diameter.
Director (CEO and Chief Scientist) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to return to Australia
14 Sep 2011
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew announced today that Director (CEO and Chief Scientist), Professor Stephen Hopper FLS will step down in autumn 2012 after six years in the job.
