Acting as the “Emergency Rescue Plan” in case of a global catastrophe, the Svalbard Seed Vault could be the most essential vault on our planet.
While many businesses are busy filling their safes with financial gains, Norway had a different idea. Well, the country thought of preserving our planet for the next generations, if in the unlikely scenario of getting wiped out from the face of the earth.
So what is Svalbard Global Seed Vault and why should we care?
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Svalbard Global Seed Vault Preservation Initiative
The vault is located on the faraway island of Spitsbergen in the Norwegian archipelago. This island was very important for whale hunting during the 18th century. However, in the 19th century, the industrial revolution changed the face of the region. Coal mining started to emerge as an inevitable power source. Consequently, this made several families relocate there.
Today, Svalbard is a demilitarized free economic zone, which serves as a fertile land for the seeds project. It is an initiative by the Norwegian government which opened the vault in February 2008. The project’s cost is approximately USD 9 million.
In 1986 conservationists put the seeds of 17 crops in an Arctic coal mine to see how they'll fare over a century in the permafrost. Here's what they've found so far: https://t.co/zWWNC42Jqp #Svalbard pic.twitter.com/kYvxrHTkli
— Adam Vaughan (@adamvaughan_uk) March 12, 2020
The location is somehow isolated in the Northern part of Norway. This, combined with the cold Arctic Ocean makes it a perfect preservation spot. As a matter of fact, this site’s cold conditions preserve the seeds in the event the vault’s cooling system fails. Actually, a temperate of -18 degrees Celsius is required for the ideal storage of the seeds.
The vault acts as a gene bank to host seeds from plant varieties. Today, it houses the world’s largest collection of crop diversity.
What Makes Svalbard Seed Vault Different from Other Gene Banks
The idea of a gene bank is not foreign. Many gene banks store plant seeds in what becomes a “seed bank”. However, for animals and humans, the process is a bit more complicated but not impossible. Hollywood may have fantasized the notion of freezing humans for later awaking in the future, but we are not very far-off in reality.
Let's Choose Healthy!
For Svalbard, currently it focuses on crop seeds preservation with Cary Fowler, an American conservationist, leading the way for accepting new plant seeds. Therefore, seeds come from all over the world.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault Mechanism
Contributions from countries in Europe like Ireland, Switzerland and Netherlands are among the pioneers. Additionally, Canada and the USA contribute heavily to the project. More recently, countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Syria and Lebanon have also sent their samples. However, in September 2015, there was a claim that the Syrian Civil War prompted the first withdrawal of seeds from the vault.
This shows the scale of the projects that spans across 100 countries in contributions. However, depositors retain ownership rights over the seeds sent to the facility. Also, they solely can allow others to borrow them.
The vault stores seeds in a controlled environment and has the possibility to house approximately 4.5 million seed samples. Each variety will contain an average of 500 seeds in a three-ply foil, then contained in protective boxes. Consequently, a maximum of 2.5 billion seeds may be stored. As a result, the vault currently contains one-third of the fundamental crops worldwide.
Moreover, the vault’s place is very safe close to 130 meters above sea level. Special engineering skills constructed it to withstand earthquakes up to a magnitude of 10 on the Richter’s scale.
As of March 2018, the Norwegian government planned more than USD 13 million worth of additional improvements to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This includes a new concrete tunnel and electrical units to cool and heat sections of the facility when needed. Last but not least, a new service building for emergency power backup is a vital component of the project.
With all this in mind, it becomes very clear why such vault is essential for our planet. It assures the sustainability of plant species that might go extinct. Therefore, the world is becoming better every day and we are learning the importance of sustaining life and enhancing all of its aspects.
