ARI REVIEW FOR 2016-2017

in situ conservation of endangered plant species of the Mediterranean islands through in situ management actions such as population reinforcement, species reintroduction, fencing, controlling pest plants and reconnecting isolated remnants ex situ conservation of endangered plant species through seed collection and long term storage in seed banks of accessions representative of the overall diversity within selected taxa. Previous and new seed collections are used to produce plant material for in situ management actions. The project is supporting networking among the project partners, institutions and authorities on each island and/or related initiatives at Mediterranean and wider international level, in order to contribute to the long-term effectiveness of plant conservation. Project results are shared with plant conservation specialists and local stakeholders with the aim to increase collaboration among institutions involved with in situ and ex situ conservation and to raise awareness about local flora vulnerability. The duration of the project is 33 months ending at December 2018 and it is founded by MAVA foundation pour la Nature. ( A. Kyratzis, M.C. Kyriacou ) Global Tree Seed Bank Project The “Global Tree Seed Bank Project” is a global initiative, which will secure the future of more than 2,000 of the world’s rarest, most threatened and most useful trees. It is funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation and it is coordinated by the Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanical Gardens KEW. In Europe, the project will collect and conserve in seed banks at least 200 native European tree species. The national coordinator for Cyprus is the “Nature Conservation Unit” of the Frederic University. Seed collecting has been done by the Department of Forests and the Nature Conservation Unit while seed cleaning and conservation has been done by the ARI genebank. Eighty-eight accessions of native trees and shrubs of Cyprus have been collected. Duplications of these accessions will be sent to Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanical Garden, KEW. ( A. Kyratzis ) 33 Vegetable Crops