Ex situ plant conservation initiative in developing country: Nepal as a case study

Abstract

With the increased loss of plant biodiversity, the ex situ seed conservation has become of strategic importance. International treaties and conventions encourage more developed countries to cooperate in providing financial and other supports for the establishment and maintenance of ex situ conservation facilities in developing countries. In this regard, the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (Nepal) and the Ev-K2-CNR (Italy) set up the Himalayan Seed Bank, with the goal of establishing ex situ seed conservation facility of rare, endemic and endangered plants in Nepal. Here, we discuss the importance of training on seed curation, management and research for the seed bank operators in developing countries. Particular attention is given to the procedures for providing power supply and for optimizing seed longevity in dry storage. Finally, the importance of duplicates in high-standard international seed banks is also discussed.

Keywords::

• Ex situ conservation
• seed bank
• capacity building
• plants diversity
• Himalaya
• power supply

Acknowledgements

This work was conducted in the framework of Ev-K2-CNR SHARE Project and co-funded by Milan Municipality under grant “Milano per la difesa, incremento e valorizzazione della biodiversità. Contributi a favore della solidarietà e della cooperazione internazionale – anno 2010”. The authors would like to express their thanks to NAST (Nepal Academy of Science and Technology).