Category: 2018

Four gene bank collections in Thailand have deposited seeds in the Seed Vault. Thailands Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has given its Department of Agriculture the task to lead a new National Plant Genetic Resources Center, which will coordinate the activities of 17 institutes and other bodies in the field.

The German Genebank Department at the IPK in Gatersleben organizes regularly the so called Vavilov seminars for employees and guests. The gene bank deposits regularly safety duplicates of their seed collection in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and a presentation about the Seed Vault and its cooperation with IPK was on the agenda for the Vavilov seminar this week.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will be opened for regular seed deposits three times during 2019; in March, in June and in October. Gene banks are invited to plan for shipping seeds at these three Seed Vault opening occasions.

Seeds from six gene banks were deposited in the Seed Vault this week; the International CGIAR centres in Peru (CIP) and Ethiopia (ILRI) and from two ICARDA stations, in Lebanon and Morocco respectively. National gene banks in Czeck Republic and United Kingdom sent seeds and also the regional gene bank for countries in Southern Africa, SPGRC.

Next week the first seeds from the UK Vegetable Genebank at the University of Warwick will be deposited in Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It is the second gene bank in the United Kingdom to secure seeds in the Seed Vault.

Reorganisation of reseach institutes holding gene bank collections affects also the formalities and seed statistics at the Seed Vault. During 2018 three institutes, in Portugal, Chile and Australia respectively, have made changes in institute structures and moved formal ownership of seeds deposited in the Seed Vault to new institutes.

NordGen was formed in 2008, as a Nordic centre for conservation and use of genetic resources within plants, domestic animals and forest trees. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault operations were emphasized at the 10 year anniversary that was celebrated on Friday the 7th of September.

Work underway at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to build a new, water-resistant access tunnel to the seed storage area is also providing the landscape with spectacular ice sculptures.

This week representatives from two different Thai gene banks visited Sweden and NordGen to sign a new Svalbard Global Seed Vault depositor agreement. The signatures are yet another important step towards securing that plants genetic resources important for our future food security are safely backed up in the Seed Vault.

The Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery has been organized every or every second year since 1983. The main theme for this years’ symposium taking place from the 6th to the 8th of July was ‘Seeds’. One of the key note talks emphasized conservation of seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.