'Doomsday' seed bank gets huge influx of samples

Fears about climate change and global conflict eradicating plant species and changing the face of the planet have prompted environmentalists and researchers to send 30,000 new seed samples to a "doomsday vault" on a remote Norwegian island in the Arctic Ocean.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen island, which is buried deep inside a mountain and that can withstand nuclear war and countless other disasters, was constructed so that mankind can attempt to reestablish plant life following a global catastrophe.

A custodian of the facility, the Crop Trust's Executive Director Stefan Schmitz, said fears about the international situation have prompted the recent influx of 30,000 new samples from 21 countries.

"Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 700 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide," Schmitz said. "Gene banks are ramping up efforts to back-up seed collections, and we are proud to support them by providing a safe haven in Svalbard."

The Svalbard vault, which was opened in 2008 as a backup facility to the world's gene banks that are used to store the genetic code for thousands of plant species, is kept naturally cold by a surrounding layer of permafrost.

Recent deposits include seeds for vegetables and herbs from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the occupied Palestinian territories, seeds from farmers in Bolivia, and samples for 1,145 types of maize, rice, sesame, and sorghum from Chad, which are able to withstand hot, dry conditions and that could be invaluable to countries impacted by global warming. Other recent contributions have come from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Suriname.

While the seed bank could benefit the entire planet, it is being run and funded by the Norwegian government, in partnership with the Crop Trust and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center.

The vault, which cost $8.8 million to build, is free to use for depositors wanting to store seeds that could be used to reestablish crop lines after their eradication because of natural or unnatural disaster.

After the University of San Francisco Xavier, in Sucre, Bolivia deposited seed samples collected from 125 farming families, the project coordinator said: "This deposit goes beyond conserving crops; it's about protecting our culture."

Lise Lykke Steffensen, executive director of the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, said: "Humanity depends on a wide diversity of genetic resources to meet future challenges. Therefore, it is gratifying that many gene banks choose to be part of this seed deposit. The Seed Vault has an important purpose, to secure these valuable collections, not least given the state of the world today."