Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: California budget allocates $18 million to advance biodiversity-focused projects including seed-banking rare plants and conservation genomics
July 15, 2019
“California will not stand by and just watch our world grow more ecologically impoverished by the moment,” said California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot. “California is one of the most diverse places on Earth. We have both the choice and the ability to preserve that legacy.”
According to a press release from the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), a NPCC affiliate:
Conservation International ranks California as one of the world’s global biodiversity hotspots. With more than 6,500 types of plants native to the state, California has more species of plants than any other state in the U.S., and many of those plants are found nowhere else on Earth. From the coast redwoods to the desert wildflowers, native plants provide habitat, clean air, and food for wildlife and humans alike. CNPS scientists are involved in the California Plant Rescue (CaPR), a consortium of California universities and conservation organizations, working to seed-bank all of the state’s rare and endangered plants. The new budget will help fund CaPR’s efforts going forward.
California aims to reach an important immediate goal: seed-bank 75 percent of the state’s rare plants by end of 2020, a target that aligns with the UN Global Conservation Strategy for Plants and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
“While some countries are struggling to meet the goals of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, California will be showing the world that it can be done,” added Asm. Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), who advocated to expand the administration’s seed banking proposal.
Learn more about the UN Conservation for Plant and the UN Convention on Biological diversity on the Global Initiative NPCC webpage
photo credit: Dan Feldman
