The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nestled deep within a mountain on Norway’s Spitsbergen island, has received its largest deposit of seed samples since 2020. This announcement underscores growing fears over the impact of conflict and climate change on global food security. The vault’s custodians noted that this latest influx reflects mounting concerns worldwide.

A doomsday vault for a threatened future

Launched in 2008, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault serves as a safeguard for global agriculture, designed to withstand disasters ranging from nuclear war to the effects of climate change. Often referred to as the “doomsday vault,” the facility stores seeds from across the globe, offering a backup for the world’s gene banks that conserve the genetic material of thousands of plant species. The vault has already played a critical role in restoring seed collections that were damaged during the Syrian conflict between 2015 and 2019.

“Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 700 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide,” said Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, in a statement.

Bolivia’s historic contribution

Among the new deposits, Bolivia made its first-ever contribution to the vault. The seeds were collected by the Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, one of the country’s oldest universities, and were assembled with the help of 125 local farming families. “This deposit goes beyond conserving crops; it’s about protecting our culture,” stated the coordinator of Bolivia’s Norway-funded Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development project.

Minimal exposure for maximum protection

The seed vault, located on a remote and sparsely populated island halfway between mainland Europe and the North Pole, is designed to remain sealed most of the time, with its chambers opened only two or three times a year to limit exposure to the outside environment. As global challenges to food security continue to grow, the Svalbard vault remains a critical resource for preserving the biodiversity necessary to sustain agriculture through future crises.