Global seed vaults as insurance against species extinction and climate change

Global seed vaults as insurance against species extinction and climate change

According to a report by www.n-tv.de,

The article reports on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also known as the global seed vault, located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. This seed vault was opened 15 years ago to preserve a variety of seeds to ensure crop biodiversity. The facility can accommodate up to 4.5 million seed samples and already houses over 1.2 million samples from 93 gene banks worldwide.

The main goal of the seed vault is to secure the world's plant diversity and thus the nutrition of humanity for the future. So far, the vault has been used once when the international research institute Icarda was no longer able to access its gene bank in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. Fortunately, the institute had already deposited copies of his semen sample in Svalbard. These samples were successfully used to establish new units in Morocco and Lebanon.

The Svalbard seed vault plays a crucial role in preserving genetic diversity for future crop research and breeding. It also serves as a safety net in the event of natural disasters, wars or other emergencies that could threaten global nutrition.

The impact of the seed vault on the market, the consumer and agriculture is enormous. By securing and preserving seed samples, the seed vault contributes to the stability of the food supply and biological diversity. Research and breeding of crop plants will continue to be able to draw on a broad genetic base in the future in order to develop high-quality and adaptable varieties.

The Svalbard seed vault is an important tool in the fight against species extinction and the associated risks to global food security. Continued support and use of this facility can mitigate the impacts of climate change and other potential threats to crop biodiversity.