The rapidly changing conditions in Svalbard, however, highlight how the the seeds inside the vault could become needed sooner than expected.īeautiful ice sculptures formed as the Seed Vault construction improvements proceed as planned. “We had to change all the soil, and permafrost, 17,000 cubic meters of materials, and instead we have frozen soil and layer by layer of cooling pipes.”Īfter a reconstruction cost of $11.7 million, double the project’s initial price, the seed bank was eventually stabilized. “We had to change the tunnel into a concrete waterproof tunnel,” she told Global Citizen. “It’s not like rock, like it used to be - it’s like soil.
“The permafrost is not to be trusted anymore,” said Hege Njaa Aschim, communications manager for Statsbygg, which oversees the vault’s infrastructure. In 2016, heavy rain and melting permafrost flooded the vault’s entrance, forcing the organizations overseeing the seed bank to overhaul its design. The rising temperatures have caused the permafrost surrounding the vault to melt. Take Action: Fight for Zambia’s Future of Good Nutrition But in recent years, temperatures throughout Svalbard have been rising three times faster than the global average and rainfall has intensified, according to a new report by the Norwegian Environmental Agency.īy the end of the century, temperatures across the islands could rise as much as 10 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, which is five times higher than the absolute limit recommended by the Paris climate agreement. 25, 2008 is seen at the vault in Longyearbyen, Norway.īuilt to insure the world’s crop collection, the vault was once thought to be indestructible. Magnus Bredeli-Pveiten, project manager for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault Monday Feb.
You can join us in taking action on this issue here.Įmbedded within a mountain not far from the Arctic Circle, accessible only by a water-proof concrete tunnel, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago holds nearly 1 million seeds. The United Nations’ Global Goals call on countries to develop sustainable systems of food production. As climate change accelerates around the world, agricultural systems are facing unprecedented challenges, even as demand for food increases.
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