COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters) — An Arctic seed vault on Norway’s Spitsbergen island has received new samples from the largest number of depositors since 2020, reflecting fear about the threat of conflict and climate change to food security, said a custodian of the facility.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, set deep inside a mountain to withstand disasters from nuclear war to global warming, was launched in 2008 as a backup for the world’s gene banks that store the genetic code for thousands of plant species.
Billed as a doomsday vault protected by permafrost, the deposit has received samples from across the world and played a leading role between 2015 and 2019 in rebuilding seed collections damaged during the war in Syria.
Read Also
Trump’s tariffs take their toll on U.S. producers
U.S. farmers say Trump’s tariffs have been devastating for growers in that country.
“Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 700 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide,” said Stefan Schmitz, executive director of the Crop Trust.
Among the new deposits, Bolivia’s first contribution to the vault was made by the 400-year-old Universidad Mayor Real y Pontifical de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, and assembled by some 125 farming families from local communities.
“This deposit goes beyond conserving crops; it’s about protecting our culture,” said the project co-ordinator of the Norway-funded Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development in Bolivia.
Chad, another newcomer, deposited 1,145 samples of sesame, rice, maize and sorghum, all adapted to the country’s climate and crucial for developing crops that can withstand rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.
The total of more than 30,000 new samples from 21 countries also included seeds of vegetables, legumes and herbs from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the Palestinian territories.
Located on a sparsely populated island halfway between mainland Europe and the North Pole, the vault’s chambers are only opened two or three times a year to limit exposure to the outside world.
