Tag Archives: Cary Fowler

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault Provides a Genetic Agricultural Safety Net

Peter Lobner

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which was opened in 2008 by the Norwegian government, is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres from the North Pole. The mission of the Seed Vault is to provide a safety net against accidental loss of diversity in traditional agricultural genebanks.

svalbard-map

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

From all across the globe, crates of seeds are sent here for safe and secure long-term storage in cold and dry rock vaults.

Read more about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault at the following link:

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/food-fisheries-and-agriculture/agriculture/svalbard-global-seed-vault/id462220/

A new documentary film, “Seeds of Time,” tracks the history and mission of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and its founder Cary Fowler. The film is due to be released on 22 May 2015. You can see the trailer for this movie at the following link:

http://earthsky.org/earth/seeds-of-time-to-hit-theaters-in-may?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=5c4858146d-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-5c4858146d-394288401