![]() ![]() Of course, participation is voluntary-there is no requirement that seed banks participate, but there is really no reason not to. In fact, we at the Vault never open the boxes or packages sent by the depositor. The depositor continues to own their seeds. There is no transfer of physical or intellectual property rights from the depositor to the Seed Vault. This arrangement is formalized through contracts and watched closely by several international bodies, and of course by the depositors themselves. Neither Monsanto nor Bill Gates have deposited seeds, thus they have nothing to access. Only depositors have access to the seed, and they only have access to the seed samples they themselves have deposited in the Seed Vault. If a depositing seed bank loses their own sample, there’s another-a duplicate- in the Seed Vault. So we conceived of a facility that would provide incredibly safe storage for duplicate copies of the samples that the many seed banks around the world are attempting to conserve. We wanted to put an end to the modern-day extinction of crop diversity. The context in which the Seed Vault was conceived and built was and is that we are losing diversity both in farming systems and also in seed banks. Is there any basis for these criticisms, and do you have any idea why people would attack a seed vault?ĬF: It was built to conserve diversity, not to promote genetic uniformity! If we don’t promote diversity by conserving it, how do we do it? MT: I’ve read accusations that Svalbard was built to benefit monoculture companies like Monsanto or prominent people like Bill Gates. So, it is vitally important that all our different conservation efforts, whether in the garden or in the seed bank, be supplemented by a facility such as the Seed Vault. Moreover, as we know, that form of conservation has its own set of risks. ![]() In situ, or on-farm, conservation is not a realistic conservation option for these. Keep in mind that many of the samples held in Svalbard are of varieties no longer grown by farmers. Inside a mountain in this remote and cold location, the seeds are as safe as they could be on this planet. The modest funding required is secured by virtue of an endowment (which allows the Vault to offer free storage), and the facility itself offers physical security second to none. That lowers costs, which increases sustainability. And the insulation is pretty good, too! In fact, the Vault virtually runs by itself-we have no staff on site. Given the natural temperature of the permafrost deep inside the mountain in Svalbard (about -4 ° C), the facility is much less reliant than any other in the world on mechanical refrigeration and electricity to achieve the optimal temperature which is -18 ° C. Svalbard is under Norwegian sovereignty, which reassures many, and it was no small matter that Norway offered to pay the entire cost of construction. Its location is obviously remote, which adds to its security. The Seed Vault, however, was physically built to last as long as anything on earth. With the Seed Vault, its seed samples held by seed banks, such as the Dutch, Philippine, or Kenyan national facilities, or SSE. In the case of SSE, that would be varieties grown yearly by gardeners. Both primarily function as an insurance policy for other forms of conservation. SSE’s seed bank and the Seed Vault are similar in many ways. In fact my favorite time to visit is in the dead of winter. Martin Teitel: Cary, aside from variations in weather and the size of the collections, what are the differences between the SSE seed bank in Decorah, and the Svalbard seed vault? And why did you pick such an unusual location? As a southerner, do you love the cold that much?Ĭary Fowler: Norwegians have a saying: there is no such thing as bad weather, there’s just bad clothes. Since many of us at Seed Savers Exchange consider Cary to be one of the “family”-he has been on the SSE board and has advised us and spoken at our Campouts-I thought he’d be the best resource to help us understand what Svalbard is and isn’t. He is the recipient of many awards and honors from sources as diverse enough to include the Russian Academy of Sciences and Bette Midler. As executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, he facilitated the establishment of the S valbard Global Seed Vault. Since then, Cary has worked on these issues all over the world. I first met Cary Fowler 35 years ago when, along with Pat Roy Mooney and Seed Savers Exchange board member Hope Shand, he was instrumental in creating the crucial triangle of global crop diversity, farmers’ rights, and open access to seeds. To learn more about the Companion and the other benefits of SSE membership, visit /join. Note: This post was printed first in The Heritage Farm Companion, SSE's member magazine. ![]()
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