What will be left of our plantations after the apocalypse? If our plants end up being shaved by an atomic war or burned by global warming, are they doomed to disappear forever, leaving them only a trace in agronomy books? Research does not resolve it. On the island of Spitzberg, which is part of the Svalbard Norwegian archipelago (all in the north of Europe), an underground reserve is installed in which the seeds of an immense diversity of plants and other plants are preserved. This place of conservation for post-apocalyptic purposes is called the World Svalbard seed reserve (Svalbard Global Seed Vault in English). 14,000 new seed samples were recently integrated there during the week from February 24 to 27.
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This large structure, also called “plant Noah ark”, was created in 2008. Mainly managed by the International Global Crop Diversity Trust organization, founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the reserve takes care of the conservation of more than a million varieties of seeds to date. It can accommodate up to 4.5 million.
The Svalbard World Seed Reserve is in a way the chief warehouse among the many seed banks distributed across the planet. It has the largest samples collection. Far from everything, isolated under the lands of the Arctic, it is also the reserve which is held the most distant from the risks of being degraded, even destroyed. Its objective is clear: to protect the vegetable diversity of potential disasters to come.
Fighting the loss of genetic diversity
The British online media Iflscience reports that the new samples brought to the Svalbard archipelago come from twenty-one seed banks around the world. For example, samples of sorghum and pearl millet from Sudan were deposited there. The latter were previously in a bank rich in seeds which was pillaged by combatants within the framework of the civil war which strikes the country.
Ali Babikar, director of the Center for the Research and Conservation of Agricultural Vegetable Genetic Resources in Sudan (APGRC), spoke in a press release from the Crop Trust published Tuesday, February 25, concerning the donation of the samples. “In Sudan, where the conflict has moved more than eight million people and disrupted agriculture, these seeds represent hopesaid the Sudanese official. By preserving this diversity at the Svalbard, we preserve our chances of having a resilient and certain food future, whatever the challenges we face. ”
Other samples come, among others, from Malawi or from the Philippines. Malawite seeds are Packed pea seeds (Mucuna proriens) and were sent to the Svalbard to help guarantee the food sovereignty of the world. The Philippins made their deposit following a violent typhoon which hit the country’s genetic bank. Objective: to save the region’s species to disappear in another natural disaster to which they could be exposed.
“The rapid loss of genetic diversity in fields and the loss of diversity in our diet make conservation and accessibility (with seeds) greater than ever”warns Hidelisa de Chavez, researcher at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños and expert in genetics and vegetable conservation. She even insists by adding that the diversity of cultures is “The backbone of agriculture around the world”.
“The seeds deposited this week (Between February 24 and 27, editor’s note) Represent not only biodiversity, but also the knowledge, culture and resilience of the communities that manage them. (…) This moment strongly reminds us that guaranteeing our food future requires collective action ”said German Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. According to him, what is played out at the World Svalbard Seed Reserve goes beyond us. The stake is “Protect this diversity of cultures for future generations”.
