New suppliers for the seed vault

– Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which contains more than 4000 plant species, helps to preserve the genetic diversity of the world. This is an incredibly important factor in global food security, says Minister of Agriculture and Food Olaug Bollestad.

Both Gabriela Matecna, the Slovak Minister of Agriculture, and Olaug Bollestad participated in the first seed deposit from Slovakia to the seed vault in Svalbard. Matecna emphasized how important the seed vault is for genetic diversity. Together, the two ministers carried the Slovakian seeds through the seed vault entrance.

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Wider interest in seed storage

In 2019, several countries have declared interest in contributing stocks to the vault. NordGen confirms that Romania has signed a supplier agreement, committing the country to contributing seeds. NordGen was also present and deposited with seeds from Sudan and ICARDA. Several gene banks send seeds for storage in Svalbard, and the next seed deposit will take place in February 2020.

Seed vault upgrade

An international initiative to establish a secure seed storage facility led to the establishment of the Svalbard seed vault in 2008. One of the main factors for siting the facility in Svalbard is because of its cold climate. Svalbard Global Seed Vault recently received the award as one of the most influential projects in the world in the last 50 years..

Climate change has led to permafrost no longer settling around the vault entrance, which caused water to penetrate the outer part of the tunnel. In January 2018, Statsbygg started upgrading the vault, and the completed project was handed over as Bollestad, with CEO Harald Nikolaisen of Statsbygg, cut the ribbon. The Arctic region is strongly affected by climate change, and with the current upgrade of the vault it will now remain secure even in a warmer and wetter Arctic climate.

• Read more about Svalbard Global Seed Vault