<
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/world/europe/svalbard-seed-vault-deposit-climate.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WE4.lPjc.vLWLelisgy1K>
"The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, in the far reaches of northern Norway, is
meant to be humanity’s last resort. Imagine it as the world’s doomsday garden
shed: a secure genetic capsule, kept safe in case some catastrophe — a meteor
strike or climate disaster, perhaps — threatens the planet’s crops.
The vault already had about 1.3 million seed samples from about 7,000 species,
sent from all over the world. Last week, it received about 30,000 new ones.
The number itself is notable: It’s one of the largest one-time additions since
the vault opened in 2008. (There are often three deposits a year.)
But perhaps more significant is the amount of so-called genebanks —
organizations that store their own hoards of seeds in locations around the
world — that participated in the latest donation, said Asmund Asdal, who
coordinates the Norwegian vault for his employer, NordGen, a genetic research
center.
“It is more important now that many new genebanks in developing parts of the
world are depositing valuable and unique genetic material,” he wrote in an
email. Some, he said, made their first contributions last week.
Svalbard is not the only place where seeds are stored. But it is meant to be a
vault, a mostly sealed storage place for use in case of emergency. Most of the
work of seed saving, studying and sharing happens in the genebanks. Those banks
are a bit like a computer’s filing system, in which documents are stored but
easily accessible. Svalbard is the external hard drive from where files can be
recovered if lost."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/276-regenerative-city/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
