Michael Way
Conservation Partnership Coordinator
Department
Team
Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
Specialism
Ecologist, extensive experience of plant conservation. Specialising in collecting genetic resources, capacity building, access & benefit sharing in Latin America.
I am one of a team responsible for the conservation projects and collaborations that contribute to Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership global seed banking strategic output. My focus is on the Americas region where I have enjoyed extensive fieldwork and project experience since joining Kew in 1992. As an ecologist, I develop and share expertise in the sampling and ex situ conservation of genetic diversity as part of integrated conservation strategies. I am currently developing seed conservation projects in Canada, USA, Mexico, and Chile, and am responsible for related MSBP capacity-building within the region.
- Chartered Environmentalist CEnv and Member of the Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management MIEEM
- BSc (Hons), Applied and Environmental Biology, Univ. York, 1988
- Overseas Fieldwork Committee (RBG Kew)
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Boyacá Seed Bank
Building expertise and capacity for conservation seed-banking in Colombia, with the initial focus on Boyacá flora within the Páramo biome.
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Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in Bolivia
Identifying Tropical Important Plant Areas in the Chiquitano ecoregion of Bolivia and bordering Brazil.
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Adapting agriculture to climate change
Collecting and protecting the wild relatives of the world’s most important food crops to safeguard our future food security in a changing climate.
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Conserving native useful trees of Mexico to maintain its natural capital
Maintaining the natural capital of Mexican forests through research and conservation of useful native tree seeds.
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Enhancing conservation and access to medicinal plants in Peru
Seed-banking of native medicinal plants from the highlands of Moquegua, Peru.
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Global Tree Seed Bank Programme
Conserving some of the world’s rarest, endangered and useful tree and shrub species as well as conducting vital tree conservation research in order to retain a significant resource for humanity.
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Enhancing carbon sequestration and improving livelihoods in Mexico's shade-grown coffee plantations
Exploring the role of smallholder coffee farms and native tree species in the future of climate change, through carbon sequestration and local livelihoods.
León-Lobos, P., Way, M., Aranda, P. D. & Lima-Junior, M. (2012)
The role ofex situ seed banks in the conservation of plant diversity and in ecological restoration in Latin America.
Plant Ecology & Diversity 2012: 1–14.
León-Lobos, P., Way, M., Rosas, M., Sandoval, A. & Pritchard, H. W. (2011)
The contribution of the Millennium Seed Bank Project to ex situ plant conservation in Chile.
Kew Bulletin 65:1-7. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
Hardwick, K., Fiedler, P., Lee, L.C., Pavlik, B., Hobbs, R.J., Aronson, J., Bidartondo, M., Black, E., Coates, D., Daws, M.I.,Dixon, K., Elliott, S., Ewing, K., Gann, G., Gibbons, D., Gratzfeld, J., Hamilton, M., Hardman, D., Harris, J., Holmes, P.M., Jones, M., Mabberley, D., Mackenzie, A., Magdalena, C., Marrs, R., Milliken, W., Mills, A., Nic Lughadha, E., Ramsay, M., Smith, P., Taylor, N., Trivedi, C., Way, M., Whaley, O. & Hopper, S.D (2011)
Defining the Role of Botanic Gardens in the Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Conservation Biology
Volume 25, No. 2: 265–275
Way, M. & Wenham, J. (2008)
Safeguarding plant collections from the wild and from the garden
Public Garden Issue Three-Four: 19-22. American Public Garden Association.
Way, M. J. (2003).
Collecting seed from non-domesticated plants for long-term conservation.
In: Seed Conservation: turning science into practice. Smith, R.D., Dickie, J.B., Linington, S.H., Pritchard, H.W. & Probert, R.J. (eds). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pages 163-201