Prince Charles to open huge seed centre in England
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited
November 20, 2000
LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Charles will on Monday officially open the Millenium Seed Bank, a conservation project to protect 24,000 plant species from extinction.
The huge seed vault, specially designed with barrel-shaped roofs and located in Ardingly in West Sussex, southern England, will hold millions of seeds and house specimens of more than one-tenth of the world's flora by 2010.
The project, which will safeguard the future of all of Britain's native flowering plants, was also conceived as a world resource for seed conservation, research and education, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, which will run the centre.
``With plant habitats disappearing at an unprecedented rate, the Seed Bank will provide a safe haven for many plants by storing their seeds in its underground vaults for hundreds of years,'' said Kew's Director Peter Crane.
Extinction threatens more than 300 wild plants in Britain and about a quarter of the world's plants could vanish by 2050.
Prince Charles, a champion of environmental issues and keen supporter of the seed project, will tour the 80 million pound ($113.8 million) complex and be shown the technology it uses.
The Kew seed bank was founded in 1974 and now includes an unrivalled collection of wild plant seeds from around the world. The Millennium Seed Bank Project, partly funded by Britain's National Lottery, is the culmination of this work.
The exhibition, which includes films, demonstrations and a variety of plant life, will open to the public on Tuesday.