European Native Seed Conservation Network (ENSCONET)
(project completed 2009)

The European Native Seed Conservation Network project brought together 31 institutes from 18 countries. The project ran for five years from 1st November 2004 to 31st October 2009. Kew initiated and coordinated the ENSCONET project as part of the Millennium Seed Bank Project.

Fifth ENSCONET AGM members and the Seed Collecting Workshop participants during a field day at "Ciampedie Catinaccio" in the Fassa Dolomites, Trentino, Italy. (Image: Renzo Vicentini, Museo Tridentino de Scienze Naturali, Trento, Italy)

‘Europe is very fortunate having a well organised network for the ex situ conservation of seeds of plant species – ENSCONET’ - Prof Vernon Heywood (2009). The European Native Seed Conservation Network (ENSCONET) project for the first time brought together the key facilities for European native seeds. 31 institutes from 18 countries worked together. As a result of the project, much has changed in the ex situ conservation of native plants in Europe over the last five years. Today, European native seed banks speak with one voice, have defined high level, common working standards, exchange staff regularly, and most share their holding data in a freely accessible web-based database, to list only a few of the achievements.

 The purposes of ENSCONET were:

• To improve 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 CBD and its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC)
• ENSCONET worked on four activity areas: collecting, curation, data management and dissemination. Through these, ENSCONET has pulled the European seed banking community together and given seed banking a voice in Europe. It has created a platform during meetings, workshops and exchange visits, for partners to share experiences, ideas and protocols. It built relationships between staff, scientists and horticulturalists, from seed banks across Europe, who in the past rarely met but whom share similar goals. It is these people and their enthusiasm that were vital to the success of the network.
• ENSCONET produced:
• ENSCOBASE – ‘Virtual Seed Bank’ – online access to European native seed collection data including germination tests
• Virtual Seed Bank – seed bank educational presentation and interactive seed bank in English, French or Spanish
• ENSCONET Seed Collection Manual – a guide to making quality, long-lasting seed collections from wild species.
• ENSCONET Curation Protocols and Recommendations – best practice seed curation practices

The momentum for conservation of native seed conservation in Europe continues in the ENSCONET Consortium.

Project duration: 2004-2009 

Key papers published since 2006

• Eastwood, R.E. & Linington, S.H. (In press) The Millennium Seed Bank Project. Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali.
• Eastwood, R.E. & Müller, J.V. (In press) Chapter 35: Achievements of the European Native Seed Conservation Network – ENSCONET. Editors: Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, Brian V., Kell, S., Iriondo, J.M., Dulloo, E. & Turok, J. Agrobiodiversity Conservation: Securing the Diversity of Crop Wild Relatives and Landraces. CABI
• Eastwood, R.E. & Müller, J.V. (2010) European Native Seed Conservation Network - Working together towards GSPC target 8. BG Journal 7(2):11-13
• Godefroid, S., Rivière, S., Waldren, S., Boretos, N., Eastwood, R. & Vanderborght, T. (2011) To what extent are threatened European plant species conserved in seed banks? Biological Conservation 144(5):1494-1498
• Müller, J.V., Eastwood, R.E. & Linington, S.H. (In press) ENSCONET – A Milestone for European Seed Conservation. Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali.