85 year old Russian seed bank faces destruction

[fgalkin]

Very true. I also hope that our president will realize the positive international publicity he would get if he steps in.

To add to what Broomstick is saying (which is what's pretty much happening here), the scientists involved here are botanists. In Russian, "botanist" have acquired connotations of "nerd" or "geek."

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[K. A. Pital]

Well, that's an atrocity, but this drama has been played out time and again in modern Russia. This is a very famous collection and so it gathered publicity.

But how many scientific labs were literally plundered and turned into trade and office space? How many pieces of art were thrown away to rot? It's not the matter of this lab alone, although it's very unsettling.

The "modernization" in Russia will start with the destruction of the remnants of science and its achievements, I guess.

[Patrick Degan]

I simply don't have the words to express just how fucked up this situation is. Just in basic terms, this goes beyond capitalism into outright looting of the commonwealth, but to possibly put the future in danger for a fistful of rubles... Suicidal madness.

[Starman7]

It doesn't even require a complete halt to the building projects, all it requires is a few years for the contents to be safely transplanted into other facilities. This is criminally stupid, and I hope Medvedev delays or stops the construction.

I don't have terribly much hope, but perhaps by signing the petition and sending a letter to his office, he might take a good look and realize just how incredibly short-sighted...

No, even in the short term, it's incredibly stupid.

[Professor Dire]

Looks like there is a chance after all:

From here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... sk-twitter

The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has ordered an immediate inquiry into the potential destruction of the world's oldest seed bank following a court case and a Twitter campaign by Guardian readers and others.

The fate of the station appeared to be sealed last week when a court ruled in favour of the Pavlovsk research station and its surrounding farmland being turned into private housing. It holds the world's largest fruit collections and was protected by 12 Russian scientists during the second world war who chose to starve to death rather than eat the unique collection of seeds and plants which they were guarding during the 900-day siege of Leningrad.

More than 90% of the plants are found in no other research collection or seed bank. Its seeds and berries are thought to posess traits that could be crucial to maintaining productive fruit harvests in many parts of the world as climate change and a rising tide of disease, pests and drought weaken the varieties farmers now grow. At stake, say campaigners for the station, are more than 5,000 varieties of seeds and berries from dozens of countries, including more than 100 varieties each of gooseberries and raspberries.

As it is predominantly a field collection, Pavlovsk cannot be moved. Experts estimate that even if another site were available nearby, it would take many years to relocate the plants.

The court ruling was instantly appealed, giving the station one month before development plans for a housing estate that would destroy the station can move forward. This judgment means the order can only be revoked through a direct command of the president or prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

The Civic Chamber, a Russian state institution with a remit to monitor parliament and the government, then sent a telegram to Medvedev to request a formal appeal to protect the collection. And numerous supporters of the research station have made their feelings felt on Twitter (using the #pavlovsk hashtag). On Friday, following a week of lobbying Medvedev tweeted back: "Received the Civic Chamber's appeal over the Pavlov Experimental Station. Gave the instruction for this issue to be scrutinised."

The campaign may have already achieved more than the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation which last year appealed unsuccessfully to the Russian government to include Pavlovsk in the global network of gene banks.

However, the ongoing heatwave is thought to have also put pressure on the government. Russian agricultural minister, Elena Borisovna Skrynnik, had fought for the station to be saved on the grounds that its heritage was crucial for food security as climate change grew more serious.

Much of the Russian wheat harvest has been destroyed in the last month by the heatwave, which has been linked to climate change.

Yesterday, the Crop Diversity Trust, which has been leading western attempts to save the station, urged people to continue to petition the Russian authorities. A statement on the trust's website said: "Over the next four weeks, we will continue our fight to save Pavlovsk, and we need your help. We need to persuade the political authorities of the importance of the irreplaceable crop diversity growing at Pavlovsk station, and request that the judgment be revoked."

[CJvR]

Someone woke up.

GOOD!

It would be a crime of epic proportions if indifference was allowed to do what the 900 day siege didn't.

[Molyneux]

A breath of hope...now let's see if it goes anywhere.

[HMS Sophia]

Is there any news on this?
Have only just found the thread and i wondered if it ended with atrocity or salvation

[Rossum]

I'm sure its come to the attention of others, but if the seed bank has to keep some of these seeds planted to keep them viable then it shouldn't be too difficult to grow more of the plants and have extra seeds sent to other seed banks. Even if the next seed bank cannot contain all of the seeds stored here then it could store some, and with samples of the seeds spread out in different banks across the world then the potential destruction of this seed bank won't be a disaster.

After all, even if the seed farm is protected against being redeveloped it doesn't necessarily mean its protected against some other disaster... like fire, earthquake, or some other natural disaster that could destroy the seeds.

Oh, and I signed the petition as well... even if its unlikely to affect the outcome of all this.

[Temujin]

Since I signed the petition, I got this email yesterday. Important stuff is bolded.

Friends,

Thank you for signing the petition to save the Pavlovsk Experimental station. I’m writing to give you an update on the campaign to save the priceless fruits and berries at Pavlovsk, and to let you know what else you can do.

Here’s the latest: Since Russian President Medvedev tweeted about the issue (more about that here: http://sn.im/10qkin) we’ve learned that Russia’s government Audit Chamber is meeting about Pavlovsk Station on the 27th. We want to get as many signatures, tweets and letters as we can before that meeting, and we’ll keep you informed on its outcome as soon as we find out. You can also follow us at twitter.com/croptrust for the latest updates.

Meanwhile, we’ve gotten thousands of new signatures, and international attention with news stories all over the world. Just last week, the Associated Press, Agence France Presse and New York Times wrote on the issue – and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

This is great news, because it adds to the pressure on this issue, and we know that the Kremlin is listening. But we haven’t won yet – and that’s where we still need your help. There are three things you can do:

1) Tweet at President Medvedev about Pavlovsk station by sending the following tweets:

English: @KremlinRussia_E Mr. President, protect the future of food - save #Pavlovsk Station! http://bit.ly/d2H96s

Russian: @KremlinRussia Господин президент, защитите будущее сельского хозяйства - спасите Павловскую станцию! http://bit.ly/d2H96s

2) Recruit friends to sign the petition. You can send them to this address: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/te ... re_of_food

3) Write a personal letter to the Kremlin, here: http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/. Writing a letter in your own words, even if you’ve already signed the petition, means a lot.

Thanks again for all that you’ve done. Your tweets, signatures and letters truly have made a difference. We’ll keep you updated on the campaign’s progress, and any new developments.

[LionElJonson]

I'm not on Twitter; do you need to be Russian to sign the petition?