Seeds for Life Project – Kenya William Omondi, National Co-ordinator, Tree seed Programme: Kenya Forestry Research Institute Purpose Enhance conservation and sustainable utilisation of Kenya’s plant genetic resources Activities Collection of seed and herbarium specimen Seed storage in Kenya and duplicates in RBG, Kew Seed studies to backstop conservation Build capacity of local communities and Institutions to conserve PGR

Destruction of natural forests

Degradation of drylands

Endangered species; e.g. Osiris lanceolata

Seed collections based on best practice principles

Seed studies to backstop conservation 15ºC 20 ºC 25ºC

Material Transfer Agreement: KENYA and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew Ensures Kenya Governments consent to the transfer of seeds to the RBG, Kew Seed Bank for safe keeping and long-time conservation Duplicates in Kew exclusively for long term storage Research limited to supporting conservation Kenya retains ownership of the duplicate at Kew Any other research on the material by Kew can only be undertaken through a separate agreement

Emerging issues....  Climate change, habitat degradation and species loss  Conflict between international conventions and National regulations  Definition of access in relation to ex-situ conservation and seed duplication  Total disclosure of origin and some aspects of IK  Modalities of costing, negotiating and sharing t he benefits...the role of all stakeholders