If seeds are lost, e.g. as a result of natural disasters, war or simply a lack of resources, the seed collections may be reestablished using seeds from Svalbard.
Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations is an important contribution toward the reduction of hunger and poverty in developing countries. This is where the greatest plant diversity originates and where the need for food security and the further development of agriculture is most urgent.
Drawing: Global Crop Diversity Trust
The loss of biological diversity is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the environment and sustainable development. The diversity of food crops is under constant pressure. The consequence could be an irreversible loss of the opportunity to grow crops adapted to climate change, new plant diseases and the needs of an expanding population.
History
The history of Svalbard Global Seed Vault starts as early as 1983. In common with other big projects, it’s been a long and not very easy journey.
Preserving seed from food plants is an absolutely essential part of the work of preserving the world’s biodiversity, adapting to climate change and global warming and thereby ensuring food for the world’s population for the foreseeable future.
There are hundreds of gene banks around the world. But some of them are vulnerable to natural disasters, war or the lack of management or finance. The foundation of a global ”central bank” for the world’s seeds (primarily of food plants) has therefore long been an issue.
Nordic Genetic Resource Centre in 1983
The first initiative for the creation of a safety deposit for seeds in permafrost was taken by the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NBG) as early as the early 80s. Svalbard, along with Greenland and the Jotunheim mountains, was assessed as a possible location at an early date. NBG visited Svalbard in 1983 and it was eventually decided to store seeds 300 metres inside a disused mine, mine 3, near Longyearbyen, where there was a permafrost of minus 3-4 degrees.
NBG’s positive experience of Svalbard led to the question of similar safety deposits being taken up by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and a meeting between the board and the Norwegian authorities was arranged.
In 1989 IBPGR started surveying the relevant alternative sites in Svalbard. Norway offered to take care of the actual construction of the vault, whilst FAO and IBPGR would take care of the administrative operating costs through the creation of a fund based on capital from external donors.
Who ownes the worlds heritage?
In the early 90s there was heated debate between the various member countries of the FAO about patenting and access to genetic resources. Developing countries wished to receive part of the proceeds from the commercial seed industry, since the diversity mainly came from their areas, whilst the commercial seed industry wanted free access to such resources and the opportunity to patent the seeds. This led to a polarised atmosphere with little mutual trust regarding the administration of seed.
The lack of international agreements to regulate this area eventually became an obstacle to realising the plans and IBPGR and FAO eventually had to give up looking for donors. Together with the Norwegian authorities they decided to shelve the plans for an international safety deposit for seeds in Svalbard.
The breakthrough
The turning point came when FAO’s International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture came into force in 2004. This created a new basis for taking the plans up again. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food took up the challenge.
A group of Nordic and international experts under the direction of Noragric at the Norwegian University of Life Scientists (UMB) were appointed to carry out a preliminary study. In September 2004 the group put forward an unambiguously positive report, which concluded that suitable locations were to be found in Svalbard.
The report recommended that a chamber should be built inside the mountain. It was also stressed that the storage of seeds should be done in accordance with international gene bank standards, at minus 18 degrees, and that the seeds should be stored by the ”black box” method, that is that only the institution which deposits seeds has right of ownership and disposition over them.
In November 2004 the report was presented at FAO’s Commission for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Norwegian idea received a positive response and was perceived by many countries as a most welcome contribution to the international work of preserving the world’s plant genetic resources. Some developing countries also pointed to the earlier positive experience of development collaborations with Nordic countries and the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre in Svalbard.
Even though the facility is owned by Norway, it is important to underline that the seed samples which are stored in the vault are indisputably the property of the depositor (whether country, gene bank or institution), which has right of ownership and disposition over them.
The project consists of three chambers, each of which has the capacity to store 1.5 million seed samples. The facility was officially opened on 26th February 2008.
Photo: Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Five reasons for storing the world’s seeds in Svalbard
1
Svalbard, as Norwegian territory, enjoys security and political and social stability. Norway understands the importance of preserving Svalbard as an area of undisturbed nature, which is now an important research and reference area. The seed vault fits ideally into this concept.
2
Svalbard has an isolated position far out in the ocean, between 74° and 81° N and only 1000 kilometres from the North Pole. The archipelago is characterised by an undisturbed nature. Permafrost provides stable storage conditions for seeds. Besides which there is little risk of local dispersion of seed.
3
The seed vault, which consists of three chambers, is located right outside Longyearbyen and directly opposite Longyear Airport. The facility is about 130 metres above sea level and has been tunnelled 120 metres into the mountain, in a stable sandstone situation. Each of the three underground chambers is about 1,200 cubic metres (20 metres deep, 10 metres wide and 6 metres high). The location so far below ground guarantees stable permafrost for the foreseeable future and is high enough above sea level to secure the facility against any rise in sea level as a result of global warming.
4
The facility’s open location near the town makes monitoring and security easier. Security is the responsibility of the Governor of Svalbard in cooperation with the University of Svalbard (UNIS).
5
Since Svalbard was a natural choice for physical and security reasons, the Norwegian government decided that Norwegian ownership, operating responsibility and financing of the facility was equally natural. The seed vault is also in line with Norwegian policy with regard to biodiversity, preservation of genetic resources, north-south policy, development policy and food safety, as displayed in the following points:
- In establishing the international seed vault, Norway is making a unique contribution to the preservation of the planet’s most important biodiversity. This will help to fulfil the main objectives of the Biodiversity Convention and the FAO treaty, priority issues for Norway for many years. The seed vault could come to have a special significance for a number of regions in developing countries where the storage conditions in regular gene banks are a constant challenge.
- For many years it has been Norway’s aim to play a bridge-building role in the north-south debate about genetic resources and biological diversity. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily always take the middle line, but rather that we try to see new elements in the positions of all sides with the aim of finding solutions which actually lead to the sensible management of genetic resources. We believe that Svalbard Global Seed Vault can be a unifying initiative, which offers much to countries both north and south and which will hopefully also promote global collaboration in taking care of our most important genetic resources.
- Securing food supplies is one of the most basic issues in any strategy for eliminating poverty. In a time of climate change, this is equally a global issue. The establishment of a global seed vault is therefore very much in line with the principle of informed self-interest.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs