Sowing the seeds

Norway’s new global seed vault will help meet the challenges of food shortages in the future, explains Terje Riis-Johansen

On 26 February the eyes of the world were directed towards a mountain cavern on Svalbard for the opening of Svalbard global seed vault.This is an important contribution from Norway towards securing the world’s genetic diversity. The permafrost close to the North Pole makes this an ideal secure depository for 1,400 seeds from gene banks all over the world.

Many of the world’s most important collections are located in areas that may be politically and climatically unstable. Both acts of war and natural disasters  – in addition to accidents and lack of expertise – can destroy the collections. We have already seen several examples of this. However, storing genetic resources in only one place involves risk. This is the reason Norway has constructed a unique storage facility far inside a mountainside on Svalbard to provide space for seeds from food and cultivated plants from all over the world.

By establishing the Svalbard global seed vault at a cost of approximately NOK 50 million, Norway has contributed to establishing the ultimate safety net for genetic plant resources. Some 130m inside the permafrost – not far outside Longyearbyen – lie three caverns with a total floor area of 1000 m2. They can hold almost five million seed packages. The natural temperature of minus three to four degrees centigrade all year round will be brought down to minus 18 by cooling systems.

The new seed vault is important in order to ensure that the genetic diversity of the world’s cultivated plants is maintained. There is broad agreement among experts that access to variety and genetic diversity in plants is essential in a future of great climatic challenges. Diversity is perhaps the most valuable natural resource we are in possession of.  Climate change will require new varieties that can handle changes in cultivation conditions. These properties must be developed from the gene material that is currently available. Varieties of important cultivated plants that can cope with drought stress, changes in growing seasons and temperature or the increased pressure from diseases and pests, will be important for food security for a growing population. Organised work to preserve genetic resources from plants and a safe depository that includes the entire world is a precondition for allowing future generations to create plants that may meet the challenges posed by climate change.

Almost all of the world’s gene banks wish to deposit a copy of their own seed collections on Svalbard. This work has already started. The seed vault will operate much like a safe deposit box. Those who deposit seeds at the vault have full access to their own seeds. This is an important principle. They will also pay the costs of depositing the seeds and will be responsible for renewing the seed stock when the germination capacity of deposited seeds diminishes in the future. In order to ensure that a lack of funds is not a barrier to participation, the global crop diversity trust has assisted countries which have difficulties in raising the funds.

The depositing of seeds will comply with national and international regulations. Genetically modified seeds are currently not being deposited and Norway, which has 30 years of experience of storing seeds in permafrost, will be the formal owner of the plant and responsible for operating it.

The whole world has been following the project closely. This illustrates how important it is considered to be. Norway has taken a leading role and contributes to the preservation of international gene resources – a fact that has provided Norway with international recognition. The Svalbard global seed vault has also become a “brand” in its own right, and one that many international organisations and individuals are eager to be associated with. For this reason the opening ceremony  was a major international TV event that attracted not only the international media, but also politicians, including commission president José Manuel Barroso, and celebrities from all over the world.

We are proud of what Norway has achieved on Svalbard, in cooperation with the FAO and the global crop diversity trust, and are certain that this is an initiative that will be greatly appreciated by future generations.