Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Protecting Worlds Crop Diversity and Ensuring Future Food Security in a Changing Climate

Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Protecting Worlds Crop Diversity and Ensuring Future Food Security in a Changing Climate

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The small barred Global Seed Vault continues to capture the
world's attention as a symbol of hope and resilience for
future food security. Located deep within the Arctic permafrost on Spitzbergen,
this facility stores over one million distinct seed samples for
merely every country around the globe. Norway owns and operates
the Vault with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture

(00:23):
and Food, the Crop Trust, and nord Gen. Designed as
a failsafe backup, the Vault plays a crucial role in
securing crop diversity as the globe faces intensifying ecological challenges.
Recent news from October twenty twenty two highlights fresh contributions
to the Seed Vault. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center,

(00:43):
based in Mexico, deposited more than three thousand, eight hundred
new samples, including hundreds of maize and thousands of wheat accessions.
The center's research staff expressed that this work is vital
as the vault's function is to preserve genetic diversity and
guarantee food secure for staple crops that feed billions. With
this recent deposit, the vault now holds over a million

(01:06):
seeds and continues to expand its collection as a living
insurance policy for our future meals. According to scientists working
on seed banking, such as Fiona Hay, maintaining the viability
and diversity of these seeds is not a passive task.
It involves international coordination, ongoing research, and a commitment to

(01:27):
constant renewal and backup. For example, the seed vault was
essential during the Syrian Civil War when researchers used stored
backup samples to rebuild a plant breeding collection destroyed by conflict.
These stories exemplify how the seed vault is not simply
a museum or a symbolic facility, but a vital hub
in a global network of active gene and seed banks.

(01:50):
These banks ensure that the raw materials for breeding, climate resilience,
and disease resistance in major crops are always available, no
matter what disaster may unfold. Many experts warn that food
security is still threatened by a narrowing genetic base. The
Food and Agriculture Organization has reported a sharp decline in

(02:11):
crup diversity since the early twentieth century from industrialized farming practices.
This makes the work of seed and gene banks and
the deposits into stalbard all the more essential. Researchers are
also experimenting with improving storage technology, such as tweaking, drying temperatures,
and using machine learning to monitor seed viability, all aimed

(02:33):
at making collections long lasting and efficient. Funding is a
lingering issue. The Crop Trust works to secure ongoing financial support,
stressing that maintaining these collections demands sustained attention far beyond
the construction of new vaults. Hackers in natural disasters are
not the vault's only concerns. Staff must continually check the

(02:53):
quality and regenerative health of the seeds to avoid any
loss in genetic value. There is also a growing discusis
about inclusivity and equitable access to stored resources. Many deposits
come on behalf of poorer countries at risk for war
or climate stress. In return, partner institutions promised that seeds
loaned out can be returned or replanted in their home regions,

(03:15):
helping communities recover from disaster or crop losses. The small
barred Global Seed Vault stands as a crucial lifeline for
global agriculture navigating a rapidly changing planet. Experts see it
not just as a backup as an active part of
humanity's effort to safeguard its future food supply. Thank you
for tuning in to this update on the Small Barred

(03:37):
Global Seed Vault. Be sure to join us next week
for more important stories shaping our food and our world.