The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the Arctic, also known as the “doomsday vault,” has added its one millionth seed variety. Built in Norway in 2008, the vault is meant to protect crop diversity and safeguard global food supplies in case of a catastrophe, from natural disasters and climate change to war.
The vault received more than 60,000 new seed varieties this week from 35 different groups, including regional seedbanks and agricultural departments in Thailand, the United States, and Ireland; universities in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Lebanon; the Cherokee Nation, the first U.S.-based tribe to make a deposit; and the estate of Britain’s Prince Charles, among others, according to The Verge. The vault now contains more than 1,050,000 seed varieties, from staple crops like maize, wheat, and rice to vegetables, herbs, and wildflowers.
The facility has the capacity to store 4.5 million crop varieties from around the world. Each variety packet contains an average 500 seeds, for a total capacity of 2.5 billion seeds.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Image: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. MATTHIAS HEYDE/SGSV