Global Tree Seed Bank Madagascar

Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) has been the leader in seed conservation in Madagascar for over two decades, working with the Silo National des Graines Forestieres (SNGF) to build a nucleus of expertise on the tree flora of Madagascar. The current project for the MSBP team in Madagascar is focussing on ex-situ conservation of threatened, endemic and useful tree species, prioritising multi-provenance collections.

The project has six main aims:

• Develop Madagascar's national seed collection, through a targetted seed collecting programme, alongside the development of a national network of phenology monitors to ensure maximum quality, quantity and genetic diversity of collections

• Increase seed supply for restoration projects, through the development of collections management capacity and tools at SNGF, and through the development of resource and context appropriate drying, cooling and storage facilities for restoration projects

• Improve facilities and capacity for germination testing at SNGF, through enhanced technical capacity, and a knowledge exchange and training programme.

• Enhanced tools and capacity for species identification and IUCN Red List assessments, utilising AI, and the sequencing of selected genera

• Deepen understanding of restoration ecology and species traits, through a programme of restoration trials at Ankarafantsika National Park in collaboration with four local communities, with associated MSc research projects feeding in to future trials

• Engage communities and disseminate program outputs, through a programme of environmental education in Ankarafantsika, the development of a 'seed atlas' for the tree flora of Madagascar and a programme of workshops and publications