![]() The island is the most rapidly warming part of the planet but experts say the deposits are buried so deep in the permafrost that they will be safe for centuries. In theory, the seeds are safe, although the entrance to the facility flooded with meltwater in 2017 after a heatwave in Svalbard. As you make your way between what look like the shelves of a DIY warehouse, you can click on a country’s box to find out more. Each species is sealed in an aluminium airtight bag and kept in its country’s box. Eventually, you arrive at the “cathedral”, home to the three seed chambers, each of which can store nearly 3,000 seed boxes. What is secured inside the vault is one of the most important global public goods we have on Earth Stefan Schmitz, the Crop TrustĪway from the panoramic view of the Arctic night from the vault’s entrance, the virtual tour takes you down a long tunnel deep into the mountain. Research into the resilience of these crops and plant species could be vital as the planet heats in the coming decades. Photograph: NordGenĪfter the Aleppo seed bank was destroyed in the Syrian civil war, the vault was used to replenish seeds for the first time by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, a regional hub based in Aleppo to study crops from the cradle of civilisation where agriculture first began. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault might look a bit like a DIY warehouse but it’s ‘one of the most important global public goods we have on Earth’. I’ve been so many times and I’m still curious.” Then you see all of the boxes with seeds from all of these countries. “When you open the door, it’s -18C – the international standard for conserving seeds – which is very, very cold. All you can hear is yourself,” says Lise Lykke Steffensen, executive director of NordGen, which is responsible for the day to day operation of the vault. It has high ceilings and when you’re standing inside the mountain, there’s hardly any sound. Scientists say they hope people will learn more about their work through the virtual tour – without running the risk of falling prey to a polar bear. The seeds could hold answers to agricultural challenges posed by climate crisis, invasive species, pests, changes in rainfall patterns and rampant biodiversity loss are studied, and it opens three times a year to accept new deposits from other seed banks around the world. Or see the area by car on the two-hour Longyearbyen in a Nutshell tour.The deep-freeze, designed to last for ever, is co-managed by the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust and NordGen, the genebank of the Nordic countries. If you find yourself in remote Longyearbyen, consider booking a guided Seed to Summit hike, where you’ll learn all about the town’s coal mining history and pass the vault entrance. While tourists aren’t allowed inside this high-security facility (for obvious reasons), several tours take visitors to see the entrance. ![]() Those Syrian seeds were safely stored in Svalbard, alongside cowpea from Sudan, pearl millet from Zambia, heirloom seeds from the United States, and barley from the remote Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, among about a million others. The International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, originally located in the hard-hit city of Aleppo, requested that the Svalbard vault return 130 of its 325 boxes of deposited seeds to replace those damaged by war. In 2015, Syria made the first withdrawal. Only that gene bank can request to have its seeds returned. The chambers house long shelves with colorful boxes made of plastic, wood, or cardboard.Įach depositing gene bank maintains ownership of its seeds. But there’s plenty of room in the mountain to carve out more chambers if needed. This should be enough storage for decades to come. From there, they wheel them down a high-tech, watertight tunnel and deposit the seeds in one of three chambers. Workers receive sealed boxes of seeds in a portal room. ![]() Construction started in 2006, and the first seeds arrived in 2008. Countries around the world can store seeds in the vault for free. The Nordic Genetic Resources Centre runs the seed vault. Photo by Teresa Bergen How are seeds stored? Model of the seed vault in the Svalbard Museum.
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