Agriculture

Did You Know 13.000 Years Of Agricultural History Are Stored In A Vault?

A picture of the entry of the seed vault

In 2008, the Norwegian Government opened the Svalbard Global Seed Unit which is the largest secure seed storage vault in the world. It is built inside a mountain, on an island above the Arctic Circle between Norway and the North Pole [1]. It is one of the coldest places on earth with permafrost year round, ideal for storing seeds at a constant -18°C.​

The Svalbard Global Seed Unit safeguards duplicates of more than a million seed varieties from countries all over the world and is part of a global network of similar storage facilities. Today, about 30 crops provide 95% of human food-energy needs. The seed vault represents the ultimate insurance policy to preserve biodiversity and to offer options for future generations to sustain food supply and overcome future challenges.

A picture of the seed vault entry in a snowy landscape

[1] Duggan, Jennifer (April 2017), "Inside the 'Doomsday' Vault", Time.