CorrespondentRFIand our good friend Helia Pevzner visited there recently. I remember her enthusiastic remarks on Facebook about this trip. And today - a detailed report.
The $9 million Norwegian-sponsored Svalbard bank project in Svalbard is managed by three organizations. This is the government of Norway through the local administration of the Svalbard archipelago (“Statsbück”), the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Global Crop Diversity Trust) and the Scandinavian Seed Bank (NordGen).
860,000 types of seeds are received from more than 60 different organizations, national or international (there are 11 such international banks in the world, and most have already sent seeds to the repository). Banks collect and store seeds from all over the world, and spare samples are sent to Svalbard. Here they are stored in sealed bags at a temperature of -18°C. And even if the refrigeration units that maintain a constant temperature fail, it will take at least several weeks before the temperature rises by only three degrees. During this time, the seeds sleeping in the boxes can be saved.
The Svalbard archipelago and part of it, the island of Svalbard, was chosen as the site of the World Seed Vault also because it is a seismically calm zone and - according to the Svalbard Treaty signed in 1920 - a demilitarized territory. Maybe the most peaceful place on Earth.
Twice a year, the Repository opens its doors to receive new arrivals. Only these days a few journalists and researchers are allowed inside. The vault does not accept private tourists: extra visits are too big a risk for seeds. On October 18, the seeds were brought to Svalbard by the International Rice Research Center IRRI (Philippines), IITA (Institute of Tropical Agronomy, Nigeria), CIP (International Potato Center, Kenya), CGN (Center for Genetic Resources, Netherlands) and ICRISAT ( International Institute agriculture of desert and semi-desert zones, India).
On a building rooted in the mountains of Longyearbyen, in polar night the green beacon is constantly on. From here, from a height, both the ocean and the only airport in Svalbard are clearly visible. The plane that brought the seeds lands. Half an hour later, the car with the boxes begins to slowly climb towards the storage along the icy mountain road.
The door, behind which few people managed to visit, is opened by the representative of the Trust. Behind it is a long corridor and an airlock separating the entrance from the main premises. On the wall there are hooks with miner's helmets - without them, the entrance to the vault is prohibited, the vaults are overgrown with ice. One more door - and, finally, storage. The first thing that catches your eye is a thermometer frozen at the “-18” point, everything else looks like any archive in the world: metal racks, containers on them - plastic and cardboard, but they do not contain documents, but seed samples in bags. In the tale of the Sleeping Beauty, the princess and courtiers, cooks and maids fell asleep for a century. Ancient wheat and barley sleep here, all 5000 varieties of potatoes, future rice fields and olive groves.
There are three such rooms in the warehouse. One of them is already almost full, it has 860,000 types of seeds, and there is enough space for 3-4 million. That is, theoretically, a seed bank on Svalbard could store everything existing species agricultural plants.
The lack of oxygen slows down the metabolic activity and aging of seeds, some of them can be stored for 50-100 years without loss of quality, some for a thousand years, and some even longer.
Along the rows we go to trip around the world: China, Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Peru... An employee of the trust accompanying us draws our attention to the containers that arrived from Russia, and next to them are exactly the same boxes from Ukraine (“We have here eternal peace!"). The two Koreas are also neighbors. Several boxes say ICARDA, these are seeds from Syria. Unlike Palmyra, they were saved from the Islamic State.
Syria - Norway - Syria
The vault, which contains the seeds of thousands of plants cultivated by man, was destroyed when the city of Aleppo and the surrounding area entered the zone controlled by the terrorist organization. Syria, part of the Fertile Crescent, is home to wheat, barley, legumes, and olive and almond trees. ICARDA stores seeds of ancient varieties mentioned in the Bible. The head of the institute's genetic resources department, Dr. Ahmed Amri, said that the seeds rescued from Aleppo were sent to Svalbard for two hundred years of storage. About 20 percent of the 120,000-130,000 different varieties, barley, wheat, corn or chickpeas, were then shipped to Morocco and Lebanon at the expense of the Trust, so that scientists could continue to plant them.
In Svalbard, we met with Global Fund CFO Mikael Koch. He explained why it was necessary to plant the seeds and explained questions regarding the ownership of specimens held in the Svalbard bank.
Mikael Koch: Each sample is owned by the organization from which it was received. It's the same as if you go to the bank and rent a safe deposit box. The key is yours, and you remain the owner of what lies there, and you can take it away at any time, no one has the right to do this without your permission. It's the same principle here.
- Why keep copies here in Svalbard, if there are local seed banks in the world?
Seeds are stored in different places, starting from the farms where they are grown, we call this conservation in place. Farmers store their own seeds and those of neighbors. Most countries also have their own state seed banks, and there are regional storage facilities. This is followed by international banks, it is they who simplify the process of exchanging seeds, they can make them available to scientists, farmers, seed producers. It is vital to improve seed quality, all improved plant varieties are obtained by crossing plants from different areas.
Our vault is an additional protection for the collections of the gene banks that I spoke about. Anything can happen if, for example, the electricity goes out for a day. Seeds that are kept in a jar can go bad. There can be social unrest, earthquakes, tsunamis, problems happen and can affect the gene bank. This has happened before, so we play the role of an insurer, keeping spare copies for the gene banks of the world.
The seed conservation system needs, firstly, storage on the ground, where this crop is usually grown, that is, at the farmer, and only then outside this zone. Both copies are needed because farmers cannot store seeds for long period under predictable conditions. By at least, if we talk about the storage of all existing plants, this is simply impossible. A controlled environment is needed, as in gene banks, with strict rules control, stable temperature. And, of course, we need peasants who use seeds, this is a looped system. Farmers who have a variety of seeds from their fields share them with others through local or national gene banks. From there, the seeds go to international banks, who send spare copies here on Svalbard.
This is how the peasants South America have access to seeds from Asia or Africa and elsewhere. That is, there must be international banks with seed freezing equipment, plus national and local storage facilities, while farmers maintain diversity in their fields. These two sides must complement each other, and neither can work on its own.
Each contributor maintains similar conditions storage, regular checks are made at the national banks to ensure that the seeds are still viable. If seed viability has declined, they can take the seeds from us, update their materials, and then send us new copies.
- You have a program of work with sponsors. Among them are seed producers. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, for example, are involved in the seed business and own shares in the Monsanto Corporation, and this is a matter of concern and criticism. I would like to hear your answer.
Our foundation's job is to fund the cultural diversity system. The reserve is a critical element international system. We have donors who provide us financial assistance through our foundation. The idea is that the size of the fund should be sufficient to finance the largest seed banks and storage facility in Norway without any time limit with the income from the funds it manages. On the this moment the fund has not grown up to this yet, in connection with this we cooperate with the governments of the countries of the world. In April next year there will be a big conference, the meaning of which is to gather everyone and discuss this issue. Because we can succeed in this respect, it is doable. We may well leave behind a legacy by preserving these materials indefinitely.
The Global Crop Diversity Trust is a public-private partnership that accepts donations from the governments we partner with, as well as private foundations owned by wealthy individuals or companies. That was the intention from the very beginning. To date, we have among the donors the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation you mentioned and several seed companies, which do not include Monsanto. We receive less than 5% of our total funding from them. Important question here - who then uses these seeds. Farmers, scientists, universities use them, but seed producers should also have access to them. They are engaged in breeding, crossing and obtaining seeds of various varieties.
I think your question is leading to the topic of GMOs. How seeds are produced depends on the local laws in each country. We, at the International Trust and Seed Banks, do not store seeds of genetically modified species. We store all variety of seeds received naturally. Further, what users do with their own genetic material depends on the laws of a particular country. So we take a neutral position on this issue, it all depends on what legislation a particular country adopts on this issue.
Doomsday Vault
The Svalbard vault has an intriguing name: Noah's Ark. It is difficult to get here, and Mikael Koch recalls that journalists here often recall James Bond films. But the Warehouse also has a serious scientific goal— contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. On the difficulties of this task under the conditions climate change in December is reminiscent of the Paris climate conference.
Climate and biodiversity have a long history together. Throughout the history of the Earth, some plant species have disappeared, others have appeared. Concentration change carbon dioxide, fluctuations in temperature and precipitation have led to the development of the ability of plants to adapt. The climate influenced changes in the zones of plant existence and the very structure of ecosystems. Diversity climatic zones led to the emergence of diversity flora: Approximately 6,000 species of plants have appeared on earth.
But plants, in turn, began to influence the climate, in particular, the humidity and air temperature at local levels. Plants, in particular, stabilize oxygen and CO2 levels.
In conditions of climate warming, this interdependence is even stronger. A change in just one parameter (for example, temperature) can lead to the fact that one plant species will develop more actively to the detriment of other species. Changes in CO2 concentration affect the mechanisms of photosynthesis, plant life cycles (flowering, fruiting and dry periods) can be lengthened and slowed down, and this is already a problem for agriculture (flowering plants too early can be prone to late frosts). Finally, some plants may begin to migrate north or south following familiar conditions, while others simply will not be able to adapt to new conditions and will disappear.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption World Seed Vault was opened in Svalbard on February 26, 2008
The world-famous crop seed repository received new donations of genetic material on Monday that boosted its collection to 1 million crops.
More than 70,000 new crops have been added to the collection, which is stored in underground cold storages located in a former Norwegian mine on the island of Svalbard.
Among the new samples are the seeds of grain crops: rice, wheat and corn, a unique variety of Estonian onion potatoes, as well as barley, which is used in the manufacture of Irish beer.
On Monday, the World Seed Vault in Svalbard turned 10 years old.
One of the three storage chambers is now almost filled to the top with packets of seeds. The number of storage units reached 1 million 59 thousand 646.
What is the World Seed Vault
The World Planting Materials Seed Bank was established in 2006 under the auspices of the UN to preserve the planting material of all agricultural plants existing in the world. The project was financed by Norway and cost it $9 million.
It is also called the "Doomsday Vault", since its task is to prevent their destruction as a result of possible global catastrophes, such as the fall of an asteroid, nuclear war or global warming.
Each country received its own compartment in this bank of plants. There is enough space inside for 4.5 million seed samples.
The repository is located at a depth of 120 meters at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level in the village of Longyearbyen. The bank is equipped with blast doors and airlocks.
The safety of materials is ensured by refrigeration units capable of operating on local coal, as well as permafrost. Even if the equipment fails, it must take at least a few weeks before the temperature rises by 3°C.
Seeds are placed in sealed envelopes, which in turn are packed in plastic four-layer bags, which are placed in containers placed on metal shelves. Low temperature(−18°C) and limited oxygen supply should ensure low metabolic activity and slow down seed aging.
Image copyright Ireland Department of Agriculture, Food Image caption The Irish government provided the foundation with samples of barley seed, which is used in the brewing of traditional Irish beers.Svalbard was chosen for the seed bank because of the permafrost and little tectonic activity in the archipelago.
- The most secret places in the world
"Achieving the million mark - milestone, says Hannes Dempenwolf, Head of scientific department Crop Trust, international organization, created with the aim of preserving the diversity of crops that are used in agriculture. “Just a few years ago, we couldn’t have imagined that we would ever reach this mark.”
genetic diversity
Since February 26, 2008, 73 organizations from various countries peace.
During this time, only one withdrawal was made from the collection.
Syrian researchers have asked for seeds of wheat, oats and some grasses intended for use in arid conditions.
Usually agronomists from all over the Middle East took samples in the seed fund of the city of Aleppo. It's about about international center dryland agronomy research, which used to supply the entire region with seeds.
In 2012 due to civil war in Syria, its stocks were severely damaged, and the center moved to Beirut.
For an emergency replenishment of these stocks, scientists asked to return 130 boxes of seeds (out of 325 sent by the center for storage to Norway before the war). The management of the granary complied with the request of the researchers.
Last year, the vault was damaged by flooding due to bad weather. However, the water did not enter the cold rooms where the samples are stored.
The chambers have since received a new layer of waterproofing and the vault as a whole is being reinforced to prepare it for the wetter and warmer weather expected in the future.
Biologists believe that there are about 2.2 million varieties of crops in the world that will eventually be harvested in Svalbard.
"The World Bank Seed Vault in Svalbard is a symbol of the enormous daily work of conservation biodiversity, which is being conducted all over the world," says Marie Haga, director of the Crop Trust.
“Storing such a huge variety of seeds means that scientists in the future will be able to create new varieties of crops based on them with high nutritional properties, resistant to extreme conditions. weather conditions that will ensure not just the survival of future generations, but their prosperity," adds Marie Haga.
Endangered species such as humpback whales and rhinoceros often grab headlines, but plant life is also under threat. Fruits and vegetables that people have been growing for thousands of years are dying out. One study found that out of more than 8,000 crops grown in the US in 1903, only 600 remained by 1983. What will happen in the event of a global nuclear war, an asteroid impact, or even catastrophic climate change? Will there be enough varieties to revive civilization? The solution is Noah's Ark for Seeds, Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
Located approximately 1,300 kilometers south of the North Pole, on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, in an underground cave, is the Global Seed Vault, a large fortress that can support up to 4.5 million types of seed. Often referred to as the "Doomsday" seed vault, Svalbard is the world's insurance policy against botanical disasters. With it, the production food products could be restarted anywhere on the planet after a regional or global disaster.
Although the mainstream press portrays the vault as a way to save the world in the event of a global catastrophe, it is more frequently used when gene pools lose samples due to mismanagement, accidents, equipment failures and natural disasters that occur with some regularity. There are approximately 1,400 seed banks worldwide, but many are in politically unstable or environmentally threatened countries. AT last years some national gene pools were also destroyed by war and civil strife. 
The repository was founded by Cary Fowler in collaboration with the Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and funded (US$9 million) entirely by the Norwegian government. Seed storage in Svalbard is free of charge and operating costs are allocated by Norway and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. Funding also comes from various foundations and governments around the world. 
The seed vault was opened in 2008 and during the first year approximately 400,000 seed samples were in storage. The samples came from Ireland, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico and Syria. Since March 2013, the number of excellent samples has risen to 770,000. 
The vault is built 120 meters into a sandstone mountain on the island of Svalbard. The location was considered ideal due to its seclusion and permafrost, which would aid conservation. Being located 130 meters above sea level, it is guaranteed to remain dry even if the ice sheets melt. 
Seeds are packaged in special bags with four folds to exclude moisture. Locally mined coal provides energy for refrigeration plants that store seeds at -18°C. Even if the equipment fails, at least a few weeks will elapse before the temperature rises to -3 °C, which is the temperature surrounding framework sandstone. To maintain security, motion sensors and a webcam monitor the door. The control tower at the local airport has a direct view of the site, which is kept well lit during the dark winter months. 
Norwegian artist Divek Seinn was commissioned to do the light installation and design the entrance to the seed vault. The vault's roof and entrance are littered with reflective stainless steel, mirrors and prisms. The installation acts like a beacon, reflecting polar light during the summer months, while during the winter, a network of 200 fiberglass cables gives the structure a subdued greenish-turquoise-white light.
The seed vault is also mentioned in the list
The Svalbard Globale frøhvelv (Norwegian: Svalbard Globale frøhvelv) is a storage tunnel on the island of Svalbard that stores seed samples of major crops for safe storage.
The World Planting Materials Seed Bank was established in 2006 under the auspices of the UN to preserve the planting material of all agricultural plants existing in the world. The project was financed by Norway and cost it $9 million. Each country received its own compartment in this bank of plants. The task of such a storage of seeds is to prevent their destruction as a result of possible global catastrophes, such as the fall of an asteroid, nuclear war or global warming. There is enough space inside for 4.5 million seed samples.
The repository is located at a depth of 120 meters at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level in the village of Longyearbyen. The bank is equipped with explosion-proof doors and lock chambers. The safety of materials is ensured by refrigeration plants capable of running on local coal, as well as permafrost. Even if the equipment fails, it must take at least a few weeks for the temperature to rise by 3°C. Seeds are placed in sealed envelopes, which, in turn, are packed in plastic four-layer bags, which are placed in containers placed on metal shelves. Low temperature (−18 °C) and limited oxygen supply should ensure low metabolic activity and slow down seed aging.
Svalbard was chosen for the seed bank because of the permafrost and little tectonic activity in the archipelago.
Mildew-resistant beans, the German pink tomato brought to America in 1883 by a Bavarian immigrant, and wild strawberries plucked from the slopes of a Russian volcano are just some of the crops whose seeds entered the Norwegian global repository last week. With these new "deposits" the unique collection has expanded to half a million varieties. In total, 4.5 million seed samples, or about two billion grains, can be stored here.
The expected duration of storage of samples is up to 10 thousand years. In the event that all plants on Earth disappear, they can later be reproduced thanks to the reserves of reserved seeds. This will provide people with food and save humanity.
The vault is designed in the Platåberget mountain, which means "mountain plateau", and is located near the village of Longyearbyen, just a thousand kilometers from the North Pole. The Arctic permafrost gives the seeds natural freezing, and the extra cooling brings temperatures down to minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 Celsius).
A person who has received official access to the seeds will have to go through four doors, more precisely, heavy steel gates. All keys to provide access to different levels object are coded: each door has its own code. The vault itself is located at the end of a 120-meter tunnel.
All new samples entering the repository, each of which is represented by five hundred seeds, are duplicates from other world gene collections. They are tightly wrapped in bags and are in special hermetically sealed containers. Low temperatures and limited access to oxygen slow down the aging process of seeds. Plant crops are carefully selected by plant breeders for their disease resistance and "climate suitability". It is worth noting that Russian seeds were the first to arrive here.
The idea of creating such an Arctic repository appeared back in the 80s of the last century, but its implementation became possible only after it came into force in 2004. international treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, which created an international legal framework for the conservation and use of biological diversity of species.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called the Norwegian storage facility one of the most innovative and impressive projects in human history. It was implemented under the auspices of the Norwegian government. The cost of construction of the storage facility was $9.6 million.
But it is not the only one of its kind. For example, in the county of West Sussex (UK) there is a "millennium storage" (Millennium Seed Bank), where seeds are collected about ten percent of all known species plants.
On the role of a peculiar noah's ark with reserve stocks of flora - scientific curator of the cabinet-museum of N. I. Vavilova, doctor biological sciences Igor Loskutov:
"The Norwegian project is indeed considered one of the most global. All countries included in the gene bank of seeds, including Russia, select the highest quality and, in their opinion, samples, which are then sent to a long-term storage facility in Svalbard.
It is located in permafrost conditions for a reason. When creating it, the specialists took into account any risk factors, even the option if all the storage equipment fails, which provides optimal temperature for seed life (minus 18-20 degrees Celsius). With this development of events, the natural environment(permafrost conditions) may well contribute to the spontaneous maintenance of the desired temperature.
Although in fairness it should be noted that to this day the largest collection of seeds of cultivated plants of Vavilov remains in the world - a collection collected by the Soviet botanist N. I. Vavilov and his staff as a result of 110 botanical and agronomic expeditions around the world that brought " world science results of paramount importance. From 1923 to 1940, N. I. Vavilov and other employees of the VIR made 180 expeditions, of which 40 - in 65 foreign countries. The result of the Vavilov scientific expeditions- creation of a unique, richest collection in the world cultivated plants, numbering 250 thousand samples in 1940! This collection found wide application in breeding practice, has become the world's first important gene bank. It is still kept in
Humanity has long been trying to anticipate the scenario where, due to climate change, natural disaster or nuclear war, life as we know it will come to an end. Regardless of the scenario in which events unfold, the land that has always been a source of food and life can turn into an inhospitable desert. What will happen to us if all plants die? How can humanity survive in such an environment?
Backup plan
It turns out that the UN has long developed a plan in case of such emergency. Hidden about 120 meters deep inside a mountain on a remote island between mainland Norway and north pole The Global Seed Vault in the Svalbard archipelago is designed specifically to come to our rescue if something like this happens. This archipelago was chosen because of the permafrost, and also because it is characterized by low tectonic activity. Valuable grain seeds from all over the world are stored here.
The construction of this repository was started in mid-2006, and by 2008 it was able to open. The project was financed by such global financial giants as the foundations of Bill Gates, Rockefeller and a number of others, although Norway was the initiator of the construction. At the time of opening in 2008, the cost of the project was $9.6 million.
AT recent times due to the civil war in Syria, it came to the aid of humanity, becoming the first multi-ethnic repository. Although the "Doomsday Vault", as it is also called, is not open to the public, you have a chance to see what is inside thanks to the numerous photos provided in this article.
Grain storage reliability
Svalbard is the best northern place in a world that still has regular flights, according to Crop Trust (the group responsible for global system seed production).
The World Seed Vault is located at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level, in the village of Longyearbyen, and there is very little moisture in its air. In constructing the repository, the designers modeled our possible future 200 years into the future. This means that climate change and the inevitable increase in temperature that will occur during this time will not be able to harm the seeds stored inside. The village on the Svalbard archipelago where the repository was built will remain above sea level even if a significant part of the ice sheets at the North and South Poles.
Since the vault is buried in permafrost, it can remain frozen for at least 200 years. Even if the equipment that maintains the temperature fails, it will take several weeks for the air to warm up by at least 3 degrees. This is possible due to the fact that the granary was built in northern latitudes, in fact only 1000 km from the North Pole.
What plant seeds are stored here?
The Doomsday Vault contains seeds from over 60 institutions and almost every country in the world. At the same time, each country received its own compartment in the granary. Seeds are collected from more than 1500 global genebanks, which store samples of seeds from all crops growing in the region.
Backup copies of all these seeds are sent to Svalbard, as in the event of a disaster, samples in the world's gene banks could be destroyed.
In this way, genetic diversity plant crops from all over the world is safe and sound.
Delivery system to the island
Seed samples are delivered to Svalbard in special large boxes that are X-rayed once they reach the island. Such measures are carried out for safety reasons, to make sure that there is nothing inside the boxes except seeds.
Security levels
The roof and part of the facade of the building are works of art with easy installation, as all public buildings in Norway are required by law to have pieces of art.
There are five doors with combination locks leading to the Doomsday Vault, so anyone who wants to get inside must go through them. All doors are explosion proof. Between them are hermetic vestibules with lock chambers. In addition, the vault is equipped with motion sensors. Despite the fact that it is located deep underground, the thickness of the walls is 1 meter. Thanks to this additional protection, the vault will be able to withstand an earthquake, or, for example, a nuclear warhead.
Plus, the Crop Trust says the polar bears, which outnumber people on the island, provide an extra "layer of security."
Storage conditions
The temperature inside the vault is maintained at -18 degrees Celsius. This is enough to keep the seeds from germinating and slow down their aging - in some cases by thousands of years.
To date, the repository contains more than 860,000 samples collected since it opened in 2008. Each such sample contains 500 seeds.
The Svalbard Granary has three main rooms. They have enough storage space for 4.5 million samples. It means that total more than 2 billion seeds. This will be enough to completely restore those plants that will be endangered or disappear as a result of a possible catastrophe.
Seeds are delivered to the island sealed in foil. In storage, they are kept in sealed boxes to prevent spoilage.
How storage does its job
In 2015, the ICARDA seed bank, located in Syria, took samples from a granary (the first time this has happened) to rebuild its stock of seeds that had been damaged by the war.
This case indicates that the Doomsday Vault is performing its function properly. However, scientists hope that in the near future there will be no need for such actions. “It shows why we built it,” says Carrie Flower. “The loss of this collection would be irreplaceable… I tell people that it was worth funding the construction of such a granary, since it already functions as an insurance policy.”
