Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership - Community Tree Seeds Project

View on map: UK - Wakehurst Place,

The ‘DIRECTS’ is a three year project aimed at enhancing the role and capacity of institutes in 16 sub-Saharan African countries in the conservation and sustainable use of native tree seeds of community value.

DIRECTS team outside MSB

Darwin Initiative Research Exercise on Community Tree Seeds

Over the last two years, DIRECTS has increased the research base for approximately 60 priority tree species, and increased capability of staff in participating institutes to undertake and promote/disseminate seed research through numerous training courses. Dialogue and increased co-operation between these institutes in the different countries has also been promoted.

The project has conducted several training activities in the UK, and in both east and west Africa, and supported in-country research programmes on the conservation of seed of the selected priority tree species.

DIRECTS is implemented by the Seed Conservation Department (SCD) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with collaboration from the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute’s sub-Saharan Africa Forest Genetic Resources programme. The project is supported by the UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under the framework of the Darwin Initiative. It has now established a continuing technical and information exchange collaboration between the SCD and a number of partners in the network.

Contact: Dr Moctar Sacandé