The Global seed vault: the global seed bank of the Svalbard Islands
What is it
The global seed vault is a 27 m long, 6-meter high and 10-inch concrete storage facility, where three salt rooms have been created to preserve and preserve seeds all over the world.
Its purpose is to preserve and protect as many seed species as possible in the event of a sudden loss of genetic heritage caused by wars, floods or other types of similar catastrophes.
Within the Global Seed Store, man can find more than 10,000 different species samples with which to possibly restore life and natural nutrition to the planet.
How works
The Global seed Vault was founded and is funded entirely by the Norwegian Government, although the responsibility for operations is assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, which coordinates the various activities with the Nordic Gene Resource Center and Global Crop Diversity Trust. Samples of seeds in the Vault remain owned by the banks of the genes that deposit them. These regional genetic banks ensure that seed samples are available to farmers, researchers and processors in accordance with international standards.
In the world’s safest seed store, 21 of the most important cultures in the world are available including rice, maize, wheat, potatoes, apples, cassava, taro and coconut, which guarantee genetic diversity.
Where
The Global seed vault is clearly only visible from the outside due to the extreme temperatures at which the seeds are held and frozen, and above all their fundamental importance.
The “deposit” is located in a small town located in an extreme and quite inaccessible area, such as Longyearbyen, on Spitsbergen Island, in the Svalbard archipelago, the last outpost of Novergia, a thousand miles from the North Pole.
More info: www.seedvault.no
