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Svalbard Global Seed Vault

eep inside a mountain on a remote island in the
Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland
DNorway and the North Pole, lies the Svalbard Global
Seed Vault, an underground, naturally preserving cold storage
facility built to protect the seed of crops important for food
and agriculture around the world for future generations.
According to an article from Time magazine, over the past
50 years, agricultural practices have changed dramatically.
Although technological advances have facilitated large-scale
crop production and increased crop yields, biodiversity has
decreased to the point that now only about 30 crops provide
95 percent of human food-energy needs. Only 10 percent of
the rice varieties that China used in the 1950s are still used
today, for example. The U.S. has lost over 90 percent of its Aluminum
fruit and vegetable varieties since the 1900s. This leaves remaining food Vault Temperature Foil Packets
supplies more susceptible to threats such as diseases, drought, and between .4 to -4 degrees F

climate change. Staples such as wheat and corn are likely to be among Sensors to monitor and control
temperature, methane, and
the most vulnerable to wild weather, pests, and disease. Vault CO levels
2
The idea of warehousing seeds to preserve the genetic make-up of Entrance Storage
crops important or unique to a region is not new. There are more than Sleeve prevents tunnel erosion Containers
1,700 genebanks worldwide holding collections of food crops for safe-
keeping. Yet, time has shown them vulnerable to natural catastrophes,
war, climate change, and poor agricultural management. Something as
mundane as a poorly functioning freezer can ruin an entire collection.
Crop extinction is as irreversible as the extinction of a dinosaur, animal,
Control Room
or any form of life. A safer, longer-term solution was required.
Refridgeration
Compressors
An Insurance Policy
The idea of an underground seed vault as an insurance policy against
the challenges being faced by agri-growers and traditional genebanks
was conceived in the 1980s by Cary Fowler, a former executive director
of the Crop Trust, but the plan to
build one was accelerated after an
International Seed Treaty negotiated 479-foot wall Seed
by the U.N. was signed in 2001. Vaults
Built in an abandoned coal mine, Stable Sandstone remains
the Vault, which opened in February at 21-25 degrees F
2008, is owned and administered by
the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Svalbard Global Seed Vault entrance
on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway, with diagram of interior vault layout
and managed by the Crop Trust as a
service to the world community. The Asian food staples such as maize, rice, wheat,
Crop Trust is the only organization cowpea, and sorghum, to European and South
whose sole mission is to ensure Seed tubes inside the “doomsday” seed vault American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and
humanity conserves and makes available the world’s crop diversity for potato. In fact, the Vault already holds the most diverse collection of
future food security. Theirs is a work in progress with a daunting road food crop seeds in the world.
ahead as participating countries work with their nation’s genebanks to One of the most historically significant deposits of seeds inside the
source or duplicate the seeds they can contribute to this global “back vault comes from a collection in St. Petersburg’s Vavilov Research
up” initiative. Institute, which originates from one of the first collections in the world.
Dubbed the “doomsday” vault, Svalbard’s three underground During the siege of Leningrad, about a dozen scientists barricaded
chambers have the capacity to store 4.5 million varieties of crops (each themselves in the room containing the seeds to protect them from
variety contains on average 500 seeds), representing every important crop hungry citizens and the surrounding German army.
variety available in the world today, for hundreds to thousands of years As the siege dragged on, a number of them eventually died from
as a backup for the world’s crop collections. This preservation endeavor starvation. Despite being surrounded by seeds and plant material, they
is consistent with the philosophy that genetic resources are global assets. steadfastly refused to save themselves by eating any of it, such was their
Twice a year, the Vault opens for deposits. Currently, it is holding conviction about the importance of the seeds to aid Russia’s recovery
more than 1,000,000 samples, originating from almost every country in after war and to help protect the future of humankind. One of the
the world. Its seeds range from unique varieties of major African and scientists, Dmitri Ivanov, is said to have died surrounded by bags of rice.

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