JM 07 March 2006
ENSCONET and the National Strategies of the CBD
Summary
Ex situ conservation is recognised as one of the most important tools available in
biodiversity conservation. Ex situ conservation is part of an overall conservation
strategy to ensure that plant species survive. This is essential for human well-being.
ENSCONET offers the opportunity for Europe to play a major role in the ex situ
conservation of its flora.
ENSCONET, the European Native Seed Conservation Network (www.ensconet.com),
is a Coordination Action, funded by the European Community’s Sixth Framework
Programme.
Its purposes are:
 to improve quality, co-ordination and integration of European seed
conservation practise, policy and research for native plant species and
 to assist EU conservation policy and its obligations to the Convention on
Biological Diversity1 and its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.
Seeds banks are one of the most powerful tools in ex situ conservation. Seeds from
plants that are conserved in seed banks directly serve e.g. as sources of material for
reintroduction and restoration projects, for research and education, for selecting
material for introduction into the nursery trade, local agriculture and forestry. They
are an insurance against the extinction of plant species in the wild.
For the first time ever, seed banks all over Europe storing wild plant species form a
seed conservation network. Among other things, ENSCONET will provide guidelines
for high quality collecting and will develop priority species lists. By sharing expertise
and facilities, the quality and security of seed conservation is enhanced. A virtual
European seed bank facilitates the access to collection holdings and other data.
1
Article 9 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity refers to ex situ conservation:
“Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, and predominantly for the purpose
of complementing in-situ measures:
(a) Adopt measures for the ex-situ conservation of components of biological diversity, preferably in the
country of origin of such components;
(b) Establish and maintain facilities for ex-situ conservation of and research on plants, animals and
micro- organisms, preferably in the country of origin of genetic resources;
(c) Adopt measures for the recovery and rehabilitation of threatened species and for their reintroduction
into their natural habitats under appropriate conditions;
(d) Regulate and manage collection of biological resources from natural habitats for ex-situ
conservation purposes so as not to threaten ecosystems and in-situ populations of species, except where
special temporary ex-situ measures are required under subparagraph (c) above; and
(e) Cooperate in providing financial and other support for ex-situ conservation outlined in
subparagraphs (a) to (d) above and in the establishment and maintenance of ex- situ conservation
facilities in developing countries.”
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the political background
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation was adopted in The Hague in 2002. The
ultimate and long-term objective is to halt the loss of biodiversity.
Seed banks and the ENSCONET project refer directly to many targets of the Global
Strategy for Plant Conservation. These targets are:
i)
a widely accessible working list of known plant species, as a step towards a
complete world flora
ii) a preliminary assessment of the conservation status of all known plant
species
iii) development of models with protocols for plant conservation and sustainable
use, based on research and practical experience
viii) 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably
in country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery an restoration
programmes
xiv) the importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation
incorporated into communication, educational and public-awareness
programmes
xv) the number of trained people working with appropriate facilities in plant
conservation increased, according to national needs, to achieve the targets of
this Strategy
xvi) networks for plant conservation activities established or strengthened at
national, regional and international levels.
We are obliged to conserve the biological diversity. To strengthen the support for ex
situ conservation is one of the priority objectives and targets agreed by the Member
States of the European Union in Malahide (Ireland) in 2004. The European Union’s
Killarney Declaration (May 2004) emphasises
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that biodiversity is essential for sustaining human life and well-being
that biodiversity is critical in sustaining livelihoods
the vital role of biodiversity as a provider of natural capital, goods and
services underpinning the Lisbon agenda across all sectors
The Killarney Declaration recognises the alarming rate of biodiversity loss in the EU
and globally and that urgent and effective action is needed to halt the loss of
biodiversity until 2010 (“Countdown 2010”).
Furthermore, it stresses
 that knowledge is essential for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
and that investment in an improved understanding of biodiversity will deliver
new and exciting opportunities for development.
 the crucial role the European Research Area / 7th Framework Programme must
play in supporting the achievement of the biodiversity targets
 the critical importance of research in delivering the EC Biodiversity Strategy
and thereby meeting the EU and Member States’ international obligations as
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
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the need for immediate research actions to fill gaps in current knowledge,
brought about by targeted biodiversity research funding from EU sources and
Member States.