Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Way up north, in the permafrost, 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest secure seed storage, opened by the Norwegian Government in February 2008. From all across the globe, crates of seeds are sent here for safe and secure long-term storage in cold and dry rock vaults.
A global backstop
The vault hold the seeds of many tens of thousands of varieties of essential food crops such as beans, wheat and rice. In total, the vault now holds seeds of more than 4000 plant species. These seed samples are duplicates of seed sample stores in national, regional and international gene banks.
Seeds remain depositors' property
The Seed Bank was established and is fully funded by the Norwegian government, with the responsibility for operations assigned to The Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Ministry coordinates daily operation with the Nordic Gene Resource Centre and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and receives guidance from a dedicated international council established to advise the Seed Bank.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault – a new video
Way up north, in the permafrost, 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest secure seed storage. A new video produced by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food tells the story about the Vault.
Current
A Task for Eternity
02/11/2020: Deep inside a mountain on an island in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, more than one million seeds of crops from around the world are stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The storage facility thus contains the world’s largest backup collection of seed samples. By establishing the Seed Vault, Norway has taken on a global task that will never be completed. The best way to manage this responsibility is to do so in an eternal perspective.
Successful seed deposit despite the pandemic
30/10/2020: In the midst of the ongoing global pandemic, gene banks are sending backup copies of their seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This week, around 15,000 new bags of seeds from eight gene banks were safely placed on the shelves in the seed vault.
Latest news
- A Task for Eternity News story 02/11/2020
- A Task for Eternity Speech/statement 02/11/2020
- Successful seed deposit despite the pandemic News story 30/10/2020
- Major Seed deposit at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Longyearbyen News story 25/02/2020
- New suppliers for the seed vault News story 01/11/2019
- General statement by the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway Speech/statement 24/06/2019
- 1 million seed samples are now stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault News story 26/02/2018