Greek biodiversity conservation bank to shut down

The Greek biodiversity conservation bank of the National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF) is being abolished after a legislative initiative of the agriculture ministry, as the National consumer watchdog VIOZO and NGO ILESION have denounced.

The agricultural organizations under the NAGREF are merged or abolished under a plan of the agriculture ministry. According to officials at the organizations this decision will tear down three decades of work. The mission of the Greek biodiversity conservation bank is the preservation of Greek biodiversity. Since 1981 they have collected and conserved 14,500 seeds of wild as well as cultivated plants.

The NGOS as well as members of the organization are already circulating a global petition to rescind the decision.