 Receives Seed Samples From War-Torn Countries){kind=link}
In February alone, more than 12,000 new seed samples entered the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Last week, the seed vault received more than 31,000 new seed samples from 23 nations, among them war-torn countries like Palestine and Sudan. The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard (Norway) Receives Seed Samples From War-Torn Countries – read the article.
The global seed vault, which is the world’s largest security storage for seeds is located in the permafrost, 1,300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Boxes of seeds from all over the globe are sent there for safe and secure long-term storage in cold and dry mountain halls.
“The Svalbard Global Seed Vault demonstrates the value of international cooperation and Norway’s role in this cooperation. In a world where climate change and conflict pose ever-growing threats to food security and sovereignty, this facility ensures that the genetic diversity we need to adapt our food systems remains available to all,” says Geir Pollestad, Norway’s Minister of Agriculture and Food.
In March, the Minister welcomed the seeds from the eight gene banks that deposited seeds for the first time and the 13 recurrent gene banks, together with representatives from the partners: Jaspreet Stamm, Director of External Affairs, CropTrust and Lise Lykke Steffensen, CEO, NordGen. Representatives from the Kazach gene bank, one of the first-time depositors, followed their box of seeds all the way from Kazakhstan to the frozen door to the seed vault.
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“Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 300 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide. Genebanks are ramping up efforts to back-up seed collections, and we are proud to support them by providing a safe haven in Svalbard,” said Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust.
Eight depositors – from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Zambia – are sending their seeds for safekeeping for the first time.
The purpose of the vault is to preserve the great genetic variation within the world’s food plants and to be an insurance policy for the food supply for future generations. The new seed samples will be sorted and categorized, before they are placed in the seed vault in February next year.
The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard (Norway) Receives Seed Samples From War-Torn Countries, compiled by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top) © The Crop Trust