Millennium seed bank Home to about 1 billion seeds, from all over the world, which are frozen and stored in the appropriate container. They started collecting the seeds in the 1970s and have already collected 10% of the world’s plant species. By 2020 they hope to have ¼ of the world’s plants stored here. Seed banks are good, because you can store a large number of seeds from hundreds of different plant species, instead of planting a large number of trees to ensure their survival. Using a seed bank uses space more effectively. What people at the seed bank are concerned about is global climate change, as plant populations might not be able to cope with the increasing temperatures, so they migrate, however some of the plants will assistance for them to migrate. Up to 30% of the world’s plant species could become extinct over the next centaury, so it is necessary to store the seed in a seed bank. Seed banks use fairly simple technology and have a relatively low cost. As there are so many different types of plants (about 300 thousand, though some may not have been discovered) people at the seed bank have to prioritise which seeds they are going to collect by using three main criteria, is the species endangered, is the species endemic (is the plant species unique to a particular area/region), is the species of any economic value o humans (especially in developing countries as a source of nutrition, medicine, clothing and even fuel wood).