News published: 27 June 2025

The Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KoAGI), under the Korea Forest Service, successfully organized and hosted the 2025 AFoCO KEYS (Keep Eternally Your Seeds) Program from June 9 to 20 at the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum.

The KEYS Program is an international capacity-building initiative implemented in collaboration with the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO). It aims to strengthen wild plant seed conservation expertise among AFoCO member countries.

This year’s program also included the 2025 SIDS Seed Conservation Capacity Building Program, which was specifically designed to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which face heightened risks due to climate change and rising sea levels.

A total of 11 participants – eight from five Southeast Asian countries and three from three SIDS – took part in the program. The participants engaged in a diverse curriculum including:

⦁ Keynote sessions and workshops at the 11th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens (ICEBG)
⦁ Training in seed data collection and viability testing
⦁ Plant propagation and horticultural management
⦁ Industrialization from native plant resources
⦁ Training in long-term conservation of native plants using the Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault
⦁ Field trip to leading institutions in Korea related to wild plant conservation.

Participants developed and presented country-specific Action Plans based on the seed conservation techniques learned through the program. These plans are expected to translate into real-world applications and contribute to long-term conservation outcomes in their respective home countries.

KoAGI will continue to expand its international education and collaboration efforts in the fields of forestry and wild plant seed conservation.