The regional seed bank is being developed at a recently overhauled Salvadoran facility now capable of producing 100,000 tree seedlings annually. (Photo by GIZ El Salvador)
Seed banks for trees have operated for years in Central America with the aim of conserving the region’s highly diverse forest species. Increasingly, they have been seen as vital to ecosystem-restoration in the era of climate change. Now, a new initiative seeks to consolidate these resources by creating a regional tree seed bank, the Central American Regional Center for Forest Seeds (CRSF). As a first step, El Salvador and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) have collaborated on a project to improve a Salvadoran government seed bank and on-site laboratory in Ciudad Arce, 48 kilometers (30 miles) west of San Salvador. The one-million-euro project, cofunded by the German and Salvadoran governments, aimed to equip the 9.2-hectare (23-acre) Salvadoran facility, called the Center for Forest Development (Cedefor), to host the regional seed bank. In August, Salvadoran government officials and German diplomats inaugurated the Cedefor... [Log in to read more]
