An investment of RD$20 million is enabling the installation of the country’s first seed bank at the Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, as reported in Diario Libre. The seed bank has the backing of Kew Gardens of London. National Botanical Gardens director Ricardo Garcia says that the seeds would enable key areas to be reforested. He said the seed bank is advanced and the objective is to conserve and manage 3,500 of the island’s 6,100 native and endemic plants. He said if well conserved, seeds can last two centuries. “This seed collection is a strategic reserve of the germplasm of Dominican plants,” he said. He said the plan dated back to 1980, but the funds were not made available until now.
http://www.diariolibre.com/ecos/2014/08/18/i746201_atractivos-que-desconoces-del-jardn-botnico.html