"It's more urgent than ever that we act now to protect this diversity before it really is too late," he added. "It has proved to be an exhausting and often demoralising task to persuade people of the utterly essential role played by all this diversity in maintaining vibrant, healthy ecosystems that sustain both people and our planet," the Prince of Wales said in a statement. The vaults origins trace back to the 2001 International. The week of February 14, the bank is opening its doors (a rare occurence) to admit several new types of seeds. The new arrivals include staple crops such as wheat and rice, as well as wild varietes of European apple trees.Īlso among the seeds are beans, squash and corn from the Cherokee Nation-the first Native American group to send crops to the vault-including their sacred White Eagle corn.īritain's Prince Charles, who is known for his environmental advocacy, sent the seeds of 27 wild plants, including cowslips and orchids collected from the meadows of Highgrove, his country home. Known colloquially as the Doomsday Vault, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in an arctic region of Norway holds the genetic keys to several millennia of domesticated agriculture. "Solutions that are vital for feeding a growing population and achieving a green transition," she added.Ī total of 36 regional and international institutions have contributed to the 60,000 samples that were deposited on TuesdayĪ total of 36 regional and international institutions have contributed to the 60,000 samples that were deposited on Tuesday. The head of the genetic bank of the Nordic nations, Lise Lykke Steffensen, said every single seed in the vault "holds potential solutions for sustainable agriculture". "The large scope of today's seed deposit reflects worldwide concern about the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss on food production." OSLO (Reuters) - A vault built on an Arctic island to preserve the worlds crop seeds from war, disease and other catastrophes will receive new deposits on Wednesday, including for the first time. ![]() ![]() "As the pace of climate change and biodiversity loss increases, there is new urgency surrounding efforts to save food crops at risk of extinction," said Stefan Schmitz, who manages the reserve as head of the Crop Trust. The "Noah's Ark" of food crops is set up to preserve plants that can feed a growing population facing climate change. Mounting concern over climate change and species loss is driving groups worldwide to add their seeds to the collection inside a mountain near Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen Island in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (about 800 miles) from the North Pole. Despite the name, there aren't any nuclear weapons or bad guys with cats hiding away here.
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