First Seeds Placed in Arctic Global Seed Vault - Doomsday Vault

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-26-02.asp

First Seeds Placed in Arctic Global Seed Vault

LONGYEARBYEN, Norway, February 26, 2008 (ENS) - The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving the first shipments of what will be a collection of 100 million seeds from more than 100 countries. Unique varieties of the African and Asian food staples maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum as well as European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato are the first deposits in the icy vault.

At the opening ceremony, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg unlocked the vault and, together with Nobel Peace Prize laureate environmentalist Wangari Maathai of Kenya, placed the first box of seeds inside.

Continaing varieties of rice seeds from 104 countries, the box was opened during the ceremony, and then resealed before being placed in the vault.

"With climate change and other forces threatening the diversity of life that sustains our planet, Norway is proud to be playing a central role in creating a facility capable of protecting what are not just seeds, but the fundamental building blocks of human civilization," said Stoltenberg. snip

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, often called the Doomsday Vault, is funded and established by Norway as a service to the world. The vault is owned by the Norwegian government, which financed the construction work at a cost of nearly NOK 50 million (US$ 9.5 million)

Blasted deep into the frozen rock of an Arctic mountain, the collection stored in the vault could prove indispensable for restarting agricultural production at the regional or global level in the wake of a natural or human-caused disaster.

Contingencies for climate change have been worked into the plan. Even in the worst-case scenarios of global warming, the vault rooms will remain naturally frozen for up to 200 years, according to the organizers.

See Inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Interactive Feature)---> http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2007/10/seed_bank/

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. One more reason to love Norwegians nt

[xchrom]

2. the golden compass.