Introduction
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a facility designed to store and conserve plant seeds from around the world. The vault is located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, near the town of Longyearbyen. The seed vault is operated by the Norwegian government, with funding from the Global Crop Diversity Trust.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near Longyearbyen in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the North Pole. The site was chosen because of its permafrost, high latitude, and stable geology.
Location
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago. It is about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the North Pole, and only 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the edge of the Arctic ice pack.
History
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometers (810 mi) from the North Pole. The site was chosen because of its permafrost and stable conditions; the facility is designed to withstand an earthquake or explosion. The Norwegian Government owns the vault and pays for its upkeep; additional funding comes from donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.
The first seeds were deposited in the vault on 26 February 2008. As of September 2020, it holds over 1 million seed samples, representing almost every known crop species, including many that are extinct. The Norwegian Government has provided NOK 33 million (c. US$4 million) in funding for operations since 2008, and various foundations have donated an additional NOK 172 million (c. US$20 million).
Purpose
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near Longyearbyen in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago. The facility was established in 2008 and serves as a storehouse for duplicate seed samples from genebanks around the world.
The Norwegian government, through the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, is the depositary for the seed samples and is responsible for their safety and long-term conservation. As of 2019, the Seed Vault holds over 930,000 seed samples from almost every country in the world, representing nearly all known plant species.
The Norwegian Government
The Norwegian Government owns the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which is located in the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard,Norway. The Norwegian Government is responsible for the security and upkeep of the Seed Vault.
Ownership
The Norwegian government is the owner of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food is responsible for the management of the facility, while the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute is responsible for the day-to-day operations.
Funding
The cost of construction was $9 million, most of which was donated by the Norwegian Government. The government also pays the annual $200,000 operating costs.
The Global Crop Diversity Trust
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near Longyearbyen in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago. The site was selected because it is permafrost, has low precipitation, little tectonic activity, and is politically stable. The trust that manages the seed bank is the Global Crop Diversity Trust.
Partnership
The Global Crop Diversity Trust (the Trust) was established in 2004 as an international not-for-profit organization, registered in Rome, Italy. The Trust is the only international organization devoted exclusively to ensuring the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide.
The Trust’s Mission is to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide. The Trust achieves its Mission by supporting ex situ conservation of crop diversity through its Global Partnership Program, which funds research and capacity building in crop genebanks around the world; and by investing in opportunities to ensure secure long-term access to essential crop diversity collections.
Since 2004, the Trust has partnered with more than 80 public, private and civil society organizations in over 50 countries. Through these partnerships, the Trust has helped to conserve more than 675,000 samples of rice, wheat, maize, potato, barley, sorghum, cowpea, chickpea and many other crops in nearly 1,000 genebanks around the world.
Funding
The Global Crop Diversity Trust is funded by a combination of governments, foundations, the private sector and individual donations. The Trust is also supported in-kind by a number of organisations, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and international law firm DLA Piper.
The majority of the Trust’s funding comes from governments, as they are best placed to provide the long-term support needed to conserve crop diversity. To date, the Trust has received financial support from Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The Trust also relies on donations from generous individuals and philanthropic foundations to continue its vital work.
Conclusion
After looking at all the evidence, it is clear that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is owned by the Norwegian government. They have full control over what goes in and out of the vault, and they are the only ones with the key to the vault. The Norwegian government has made it clear that they want the seed vault to be a safe place for all nations to store their seeds, and they are committed to keeping it running for many years to come.