Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support the conservation of endemic tree species.

Genetic conservation is critical to maintaining the genetic pool of England’s native and endemic tree species. This diversity is important for evolutionary adaptation to environmental change.

The Millennium Seed Bank, managed by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, safeguards seed from the majority of UK endemic tree species, including all those that reliably produce viable seed. Further collecting is ongoing, with seed and data available to support research, conservation and reintroduction work.

Forestry England’s arboreta also currently support ex situ and in situ conservation of endemics from many countries. Alongside this, in September, Westonbirt National Arboretum launched the Global Conservation Consortium for Whitebeams, Rowans, and Service Trees, with initial focus on threatened UK and Irish species.