The idea of a doomsday vault hidden on a remote Arctic island might sound like something from the latest James Bond movie.
But the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is very much real - and could one day save Earth from disaster.
Located on a mountainside on Spitsbergen, an island in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Sea, the vault houses 'spare copies' of over 1.3million seed varieties.
The seeds are stored inside the vault at temperatures of around −18°C (−0.4°F).
And the permafrost and thick rock surrounding the bunker ensure the samples will remain frozen, even if power is lost.
Should disaster strike - whether that is by war, an accident or a natural disaster - the vault could provide survivors with access to every important crop variety in the world.
This week, the vault received more than 14,000 new samples, ranging from seeds of Nordic tree species from Sweden to rice from Thailand.
'The seeds deposited this week represent not just biodiversity, but also the knowledge, culture and resilience of the communities that steward them,' said executive director Stefan Schmitz of the Crop Trust.
The idea of a doomsday vault hidden on a remote Norwegian Arctic island might sound like something from the latest James Bond movie, but the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is very much real - and could one day save Earth from disaster
Located on a mountainside on Spitsbergen, an island in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Sea, the vault houses 'spare copies' of over 1.3million seed varieties
The seeds are stored inside the vault at temperatures of around −18°C (−0.4°F). And the permafrost and thick rock surrounding the bunker ensure that the samples will remain frozen, even if power is lost
Genebanks around the world hold collections of crops for safekeeping.
However, many are not in ideal locations, which leaves them - and their collections - at risk.
'Many of these are vulnerable, exposed not only to natural catastrophes and war, but also to avoidable disasters, such as lack of funding or poor management,' Crop Trust explains on its website.
'Something as mundane as a poorly functioning freezer can ruin an entire collection.'
To combat this issue, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened its doors back in 2008, as the 'ultimate insurance policy for the world's food supply'.
According to Crop Trust, the Seed Vault is in the ideal location for five reasons.
Firstly, Svalbard is remote, yet still accessible.
'Svalbard is the farthest north a person can fly on a scheduled flight, offering a remote location that is nevertheless accessible,' it explained.
Should disaster strike - whether that's by war, an accident or a natural disaster - the Seed Vault could provide survivors with access to every important crop variety in the world today
This week, the vault received more than 14,000 new samples, ranging from seeds of Nordic tree species from Sweden to rice from Thailand
The area is geologically stable and the humidity levels are low, while the Seed Vault is also well above sea level
Next, while the entrance may be visible, the Seed Vault itself is more than 100 metres into the mountain.
The area is geologically stable and the humidity levels are low, while the Seed Vault is also well above sea level.
'[It is] protected from ocean flooding according to worst-case scenario sea-level rises,' Crop Trust explained.
Finally, the permafrost and thick rock offer natural freezing, providing a cost effective and fail-safe method to conserve seeds.
The Arctic vault has the capacity to store up to 500 seeds from 4.5 million varieties of crops - a total of 2.5 billion seeds.
As of May 2024, the vault holds more than 1.3 million seed varieties originating from almost every country in the world.
Now, 14,000 new samples from 21 genebanks have been added to this growing collection.
Essential varieties of sorghum and pearl millet have come from Sudan's crop genebank, while so-called 'velvet beans' were provided from Malawi.
While the entrance may be visible, the Seed Vault itself is more than 100 metres into the mountain
As of May 2024, the vault held more than 1.3million seed varieties originating from almost every country in the world
14,000 new samples from 21 genebanks have been added to this growing collection
The permafrost and thick rock offer natural freezing, providing a cost-effective and fail-safe method to conserve seeds
'In Sudan, where conflict has displaced more than eight million people and disrupted agriculture, these seeds represent hope,' said Ali Babikar, director of Sudan's Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Research Centre.
'By safeguarding this diversity in Svalbard, we're preserving options for a resilient, food-secure future, regardless of the challenges we face.'
Another important deposit came from a genebank in the Philippines, where extreme events have already destroyed some of the nation's seed stocks.
'The rapid loss of genetic diversity in the field and loss of diversity in our diets make conservation and accessibility more important than ever,' said Hidelisa De Chavez of the University of the Philippines.
She added that crop diversity 'is the backbone of agriculture around the world.'
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