Adopt a Seed, Save a Species: A FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN ASKS THE PUBLIC TO SUPPORT THE MILLENNIUM SEED BANK'S VITAL WORK

摘要

Best estimates suggest that one in five of the world's 400,000 plant species are threatened with extinction, and will be gone by the end of this century. It is likely that these estimates, based on a small sample of what is actually out there, are thetip of the iceberg. The causes of species extinctions are mainly habitat loss and over-exploitation, with climate change expected to exacerbate the situation. Given the scale of the threat, and the complexity and cost of the efforts required to preventplant extinctions, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew launched the Adopt a Seed, Save a Species campaign to galvanize public support for the work of its signature conservation initiative, the Millennium Seed Bank.The case for preventing the loss of plant species is compelling, whether you simply believe that other species have the right to exist alongside us, or whether you think it makes sense from a practical perspective. Conservationist Aldo Leopold argued 60years ago: "Who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts. To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."