The Botanical Garden of Castilla-La Mancha (JBCLM) in Albacete is now part of GENMEDA, the most important plant conservation network in the Mediterranean region, which brings together germplasm banks and plant genetic resource conservation centres from countries around the Mediterranean, such as France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Greece, Tunisia, Croatia and Lebanon. This was decided at its general assembly during the last Mediterranean plant conservation congress (4th Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week), which took place in Valencia from 23 to 27 October. The Mediterranean basin is one of the main centres of plant diversity, which is why this network, sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, plays a prominent role in the conservation of flora worldwide.

The JBCLM Plant Germplasm Bank is an important tool for the conservation of endangered wild plant species. This bank was designed with the idea of conserving orthodox seeds (those that tolerate desiccation of up to 4-5% moisture, for subsequent storage at low temperatures) of endangered flora in Castilla-La Mancha, although over time the range of species included in its collections has expanded. Thus, the objective of the Germplasm Bank is the conservation of endangered, endemic, unique or interesting wild species for use in research, exchange with other botanical gardens, maintenance of the JBCLM's own collections of living plants, or for the development of programmes for the restoration of plant populations in the wild. It currently has more than one million seeds stored, from some 700 species. The Germplasm Bank is headed by Dr José María Herranz, Professor of Plant Production at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, and its curator is Dr Alejandro Santiago, who is also curator of the Botanical Garden. This seed bank is also a member of the Spanish Network of Germplasm Banks (REDBAG), Official Reference Centre for genetic resources of wild and endangered flora of the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha, and member of the recently created National Forest and Wild Flora Germplasm Network Bank.

The inclusion of the JBCLM Plant Germplasm Bank in GENMEDA once again highlights the importance of this botanical garden for the conservation of endangered species. It also puts the city of Albacete on the international map as one of the key locations for the protection of endangered flora in the Mediterranean region. The Botanical Garden of Castilla-La Mancha is a museum project funded by Albacete City Council, Albacete Provincial Council and the University of Castilla-La Mancha.