Major Seed Deposit At The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Longyearbyen

Svalbard vault to receive seeds from 36 organizations as climate change and biodiversity loss threaten global food supplies

Svalbard, Norway (February 25, 2020) – On Feb. 25, 35 genebanks from all continents deposited seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, at a deposit event hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister and co-chair of the UN group of SDG Advocates, Erna Solberg. President of Ghana and co-chair Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other members of the Group of Advocates also participated at the event.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the world’s largest backup collection of seed samples from the world’s genebanks. The seeds that were deposited today come from 35 international and regional genebanks, as well as national institutions and civil society organizations, bringing the total number of seed samples stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to more than one million, and the total number of depositors to 85.

Among them were first-time depositors Cherokee Nation (USA), the University of Haifa (Israel), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Morocco), the Julius Kühn Institute (Germany), the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum (South Korea), Suceava Genebank ‘Mihai Cristea’ (Romania) and Kew Gardens (UK).

“This deposit event is especially timely, given that 2020 is the deadline for meeting target 2.5 of SDG 2 on zero hunger, which calls on the international community to safeguard the genetic diversity of crops and livestock,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

The seeds of several hundred different plant species were deposited today and included common staple crops and a large variety of vegetables, herbs and their less-used wild relatives.

Today’s deposit was the largest since the Seed Vault’s opening in 2008, in terms of the number of institutions to send seeds at one time. It was also the first major deposit since the completion of a technical upgrade in 2019. The improvements that have been made to the Seed Vault include the construction of a new waterproof access tunnel, together with other security measures in preparation for what is expected to be a warmer, wetter future.

“Norway greatly values the trust shown to us by all the genebanks that have chosen to use the Svalbard Global Seed Vault as part of their strategy for securing important seed collections. We are strongly committed to managing the Seed Vault in accordance with the highest agreed international standards,” said Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food Olaug Bollestad.

“Every single seed in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds potential solutions for sustainable agriculture. Solutions that are vital for feeding a growing population and achieving a green transition. As the operational manager of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, we are proud to be part of this initiative and to be contributing to reaching SDG target 2.5,” said Lise Lykke Steffensen, Executive Director at NordGen, the Nordic countries’ genebank and knowledge centre for genetic resources.

“As the pace of climate change and biodiversity loss increases, there is new urgency surrounding efforts to save food crops at risk of extinction,” said Stefan Schmitz, Crop Trust Executive Director. “The large scope of today’s seed deposit reflects worldwide concern about the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss on food production, but more importantly it demonstrates a growing global commitment – from the institutions and countries that have made deposits today and indeed the world – to the conservation and use of the crop diversity that is crucial for farmers in their efforts to adapt to changing growing conditions,” Mr Schmitz said.

Seeds from Royal Estate go to Kew and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Effort to Tackle Global Food Security

Hand-picked from the Wildflower meadow at Highgrove, the seeds represent plants that are disappearing from the UK landscape. They highlight the critical importance of biodiversity conservation in confronting the double impact of climate change and biodiversity loss facing our world.

London (February 25, 2020) – Seeds of 27 wild plant species from meadows at the Royal Gardens at Highgrove, part of the private residence of Their Royal Highnesses. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, are being deposited today for longterm storage at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. A duplicate collection will be kept at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.

The contribution from Highgrove is part of the largest seed deposit to be made since the Seed Vault’s inauguration in 2008. Bringing to over one million the total number of samples placed in the facility so far, today’s deposit contains seeds from more than 30 institutions. This is the biggest and most diverse group to deliver samples of crop diversity all at once since the Vault’s first opening.

“I am delighted that seed from the wildflower meadows at Highgrove are to be safely stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault,” said His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. “Ever since I first arrived at Highgrove 40 years ago this year, I have battled to preserve and protect the crucially important diversity of flora and fauna that ultimately sustains our survival on this planet. This is why I have also done my utmost to help maintain the increasingly rare seeds of heritage vegetables, or the rare native breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese and ducks, or the countless threatened varieties of apples, pears and plums – all of which were being rapidly abandoned 40 years ago as a result of a fashionable obsession with monocultures of one kind or another.

It has proved to be an exhausting and often demoralizing task to persuade people of the utterly essential role played by all this diversity in maintaining vibrant, healthy ecosystems that sustain both people and our planet.

It’s more urgent than ever that we act now to protect this diversity before it really is too late. Therefore the Seed Vault and seed banks around the world play a vital role in this critically important mission.”

The gardens at Highgrove cover an area of 15 acres and His Royal Highness’s wildflower meadow is around 4 acres. The meadow is home to thousands of wild orchids, of which seven different types are firmly established. The garden is organic and sustainable and works alongside nature. The seeds sent to Svalbard include UK native plants that are in decline due to the proliferation of modern farming methods. Their preservation at Highgrove and now at Svalbard and Kew reflects the Prince’s deep commitment to environmental sustainability.

“The contribution from Highgrove is important not only because of the seeds themselves, but because it sends an important message to the world about the critical importance of biodiversity conservation in confronting the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss,” says Crop Trust Executive Director, Stefan Schmitz. “We’re excited that HRH The Prince of Wales is joining the growing ranks recognizing the urgent need to save our seeds—and our heritage.”

The delivery of such a large consignment of seeds is timely, given that 2020 is the deadline for fulfilling target 2.5 of the “Zero Hunger” Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2), which calls for the international community to safeguard and share the genetic diversity of crops and livestock.

Underscoring the importance and urgency of this target, members of the Group of Sustainable Development Goals Advocates (the SDG Advocacy Group) took part in the seed deposit ceremony at Svalbard and also contributed to a seed summit on crop diversity for more resilient food systems.

The Advocacy Group is appointed by the UN Secretary-General and chaired jointly by Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, and the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The purpose of the group, consisting of 17 distinguished individuals, is to raise global awareness of the SDGs and of the need for accelerated action to fulfil them.

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew received two collections of seeds from The Prince of Wales’s wildflower meadow, one early in the season and one late in the season and they have been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank ever since. The Millennium Seed Bank, located at Kew’s Wakehurst botanic garden in Sussex, is the largest wild plant seed bank in the world and a global resource for the conservation of plants. The Millennium Seed Bank houses over 2.3 billion seeds of 41,000 species.

One collection of HRH’s meadow seeds will be kept at the Millennium Seed Bank, whilst Kew scientists will take the other collection to Svalbard to deposit it on behalf of The Prince of Wales.

Dr Chris Cockel, Seed Conservation Scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew said, “We are delighted to be able to bank this important seed collection from the gardens at Highgrove in the Millennium Seed Bank and at Svalbard. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is Patron of both institutions, and this is a brilliant opportunity for us to highlight our collaboration and the importance of meadow species to food security and pollinator services.”