The new Svalbard global crop seed bank is being officially opened this week.
The Norwegian government has hollowed out a cave on the ice-bound island of Spitsbergen to hold the new global crop seed bank. The seed will be stored in a reinforced concrete tunnel drilled 70 metres (230ft) into a mountain, guarded by two steel doors and remote-controlled from Sweden.
Although there are already many seed banks in the world, this one is designed to withstand global catastrophes like nuclear war or natural disasters that would destroy the planet’s sources of food. The seeds will be stored in foil packets at -18C, and are expected to remain viable for thousands of years.
The seeds stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Bank will help maintain the diversity of our vegetable crops. Conserving the right type of crop for the right climate and production of the right foods is an important task.
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