Merge of gene bank institutes in Portugal, Chile and Australia
Reorganisation of reseach institutes holding gene bank collections affects also the formalities and seed statistics at the Seed Vault. During 2018 three institutes, in Portugal, Chile and Australia respectively, have made changes in institute structures and moved formal ownership of seeds deposited in the Seed Vault to new institutes.
NordGen celebrates its 10 year anniversary
NordGen was formed in 2008, as a Nordic centre for conservation and use of genetic resources within plants, domestic animals and forest trees. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault operations were emphasized at the 10 year anniversary that was celebrated on Friday the 7th of September.
Seed Vault construction improvements proceed as planned
Work underway at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to build a new, water-resistant access tunnel to the seed storage area is also providing the landscape with spectacular ice sculptures.
New Depositor Agreement signed as Thai Gene Banks Visited NordGen
This week representatives from two different Thai gene banks visited Sweden and NordGen to sign a new Svalbard Global Seed Vault depositor agreement. The signatures are yet another important step towards securing that plants genetic resources important for our future food security are safely backed up in the Seed Vault.
Seeds – theme of the year at Oxford Symposium
The Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery has been organized every or every second year since 1983. The main theme for this years’ symposium taking place from the 6th to the 8th of July was ‘Seeds’. One of the key note talks emphasized conservation of seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
The Seed Vault presented at FutureFest in London
The FutureFest is one of Europe’s largest festivals exploring ways to shape a better future, organized in London on the 6th and 7th of July. Among distinguished speakers and debate participants, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was invited to participate in a panel session organised by the Heritage Future project at the UCL Institute of Archaeology in London.
Threatened Myanmar orchids conserved in the Seed Vault
The first deposit of 230 orchid seed samples took place in February 2017. A second batch consisting of seeds from 225 more species are underway and will be brought into the Vault in August. Actions are strongly needed to prevent loss of unique diversity of Myanmar orchids. Comprehensive deforestation and illegal logging has been…
Strengthened cooperation between the Plant Treaty and the Seed Vault
– It’s our task to convince governments that it is really important to have their seeds secured here in the Seed Vault, she continues. Strengthening the cooperation between the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT) was emphasized at the Governing Body meeting in Kigali…
The Seed Vault Summit calls for action to save crop diversity
Presentations were given by experts in in situ and ex situ conservation and the sustainable use of plant genetic resources. The presentations can be downloaded from this website. Crucial to future food supplies An editing committee chaired by Jonathan Drori from the UK’s Eden Project assisted by representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and…
Forgotten stories of frozen seeds
This has included work with indigenous farmers and research on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Last week, the project held an art exhibition that aimed to capture, communicate and conserve interconnections between nature and culture in living seeds. The artworks were exhibited for one night only in Tromsø, before being packed inside sealed boxes and…