Topic summary
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv) is a secure backup facility for the Earth's crop diversity on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote ArcticSvalbard archipelago. The Seed Vault provides long-term storage for duplicates of seeds from around the world, conserved in gene banks. The Seed Vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement among the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen).
The Norwegian government entirely funded the Seed Vault's approximately 45 million kr (US$8.8 million in 2008) construction cost. Norway and the Crop Trust pay for operational costs. Storing seeds in the vault is free to depositors.
As of June 2025, the Seed Vault conserves 1,355,591 accessions, representing more than 13,000 years of agricultural history.