Purple clover at the Australian Trifolium Genetic Resource Centre, Perth.
Credit: Elizabeth Finkel
The 2010 Crawford conference on Biodiversity and World Food Security was an illustrious affair held night and day in Canberra's parliament house - a sleek, beautiful structure floating like a vast space ship atop Capital Hill.
The conference organisers had recruited a star line-up to champion the cause: Cristian Samper, director of the Smithsonian Institute, Stephen Hopper, director of the Kew Gardens and Emile Frison, Director of Biodiversity International - an institute "committed to the conservation and use of plant genetic resources".
Yet, there was an elephant in the room. The fact is, biodiversity and agriculture make for odd bedfellows. Historically, agriculture has been unkind to biodiversity. There are an estimated 30,000 edible species, while 60% of the world's calories are provided by just three: wheat, rice and corn.
Farmers tend to migrate to the most productive varieties - and so they should, it means more people can afford to eat - which means biodiversity gets short shrift. But biodiversity is also fundamental to the future of agriculture.
As Hopper put it, "The world has reached a turning point. We rely on these plants for our survival, there has never been a time when it's more crucial to preserve our plant heritage."
Though we farm only a small number of species, each species has many wild relatives. For example, wheat's relatives are scrawny grasses such as Middle-Eastern goatgrass Aegilops sharonensis or tall wheatgrass Thinopyrum ponticum that covers the prairies of Asia.
When commercial wheats succumb to a fungus or virus, breeders cross their wheat to these resistant grasses to import their resistance genes. Each variety has slightly different traits, such as heat or disease resistance, which may be important in the future. But it's impossible to know just which ones will be needed.
Because many wild species are disappearing due to urbanisation, farming and climate change, the place to safeguard the planet's heritage of edible plants is in seed banks - such as the famous Svalbard Seed Vault, also called the 'Doomsday Vault', located on a Norwegian island about 1,000 km from the North Pole.
And here we come to the real story of the conference, one that was not listed on the program notes or press releases. It was discussed in alarmed tones at coffee breaks and as it happens, finally erupted in the question time of the last session.
disbelief in such wanton short sightedness
This article made me weep. It is only when human beings learn to think globally as one people on one planet that we will avoid catastrophe and I'm beginning to doubt that will happen. We are a fatally flawed species that has gained control of an entire planet without the essential respect and devotion needed to preserve it .
I read this article with a growing sense of shock and disbelief. It is ridiculous that saving seed diversity has come down to an issue of money when the seeds are priceless and may well hold the key to humanity's survival and other species we share earth with as well.While governments continue to cut costs "we" will pay the price.
seed banks
The Federal Government has a three year sight target and seed banks do not fit into that criteria. Just like cutting funding to CSIRO they are now cutting funding to a resource that could mean the future of Australian farming. In the last few years GM has been in the news when more effort should have been expended on making the Government realise just what a valuable resource we have with these seed banks and the organisation that helped make it happen the CSIRO. The Federal Government should act now before we lose all the expertise that made this possible. Once it is gone there will be no going back!
Everyone should read this
I too am horrified by this. It is indeed an article of despair where there seems little hope.
And in the back of my mind, I know that this is not endemic to our seed banks, but also emblematic of numerous other issues, where programs which were the highlight of our civilisation are being cut or shelved (space, music, culture and so on)
There is in my heart though a faint glimmer of hope: someday someone in a position of power will silently advocate an increase in education funding, which will spur someone young to rise to the mantle... and a new generation would grow out of embryonic beginnings to once again think of longer term achievements .... .... ....
Seed banks
I read this article with alarm after hearing about this issue on Radio National's Science Show today. The short-termism of our governments is unbelievable. I was especially upset to hear that an intrepid seed collector died recently at the age of 49 - what a terrible thing if we allow his legacy to die for the sake of a few million dollars. I hope the airing of these issues will raise public concern and create real action before it is too late.
Speak Out
Hi All,
You may care to send some emails voicing your concerns:
The Minister for Agriculture, Senator Joe Ludwig:
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=84N
The Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, Mark Dreyfus, can be contacted by following links here:
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/minister.aspx
The Minister for Environment and Biodiversity (et al) Tony Burke:
http://www.environment.gov.au/about/contacts/index.html
Not only is there a moral imperative to preserve as much of out rich biosphere as possible, it would be enlightened self interest. Apart from no doubt needing some of the seed-stock ourselves, we will have less to trade overseas, we will have less access to stocks we need but do not possess.
I doubt the wisdom of consolidation of seed banks. If we only keep varieties of seeds in single locations, there are the threats of disease, pests, natural or man-made disasters that could wipe out an entire seed banks. We should at least have triple-redundancy for our collections.
Let's not sit on the sidelines and wring our hands - speak your mind to those who have the power to make it right.
Copy those names and addresses, and encourage those who feel like you do to say something.
Tafkao
Take the long term view
Scientists risked life and limb to collect seeds for our future. How can seed banks be mothballed - this is worth an ABC investigative documentary - perhaps four corners or foreign correspondent. Maintain the rage!