![]() To date, the holdings in the Seed Vault are close to 900,000 seed samples. Each hall can accommodate about 1.5 million seed samples, thus giving the Seed Vault a total capacity to store 4.5 million seed accessions. The seed store facility consists of three halls, each with a base measuring about 9.5 x 27 meters. In addition, the Seed Vault is equipped with generators that provide electricity in the case of a power outage. Electricity for the Seed Vault is provided by the public power plant in Longyearbyen. The seed storage area has an additional cooling system, to bring the seed storing temperature to minus 18☌ and ensure that it remains constant. The mountain mass has permafrost, with a stable temperature of between minus 3 and 4☌. The seed storage area itself is located more than 100 meters inside the mountain, and under layers of rock that range between 40 and 60 meters thick. The Seed Vault, carved into virgin solid rock was opened on 26 February 2008. Many Svalbard visitors go the Vault’s entrance to take selfies and tick off “been there”. ![]() Thank you very much.The entrance portal is a simple concrete construction that has gained status as a global icon, in part due to “Perpetual Repercussion”, an illuminated fiber optic art installation created by the Norwegian artist, Dyveke Sanne, that decorates the entrance. This gift to humanity and symbol of peace will continue to inspire and serve for generations to come. On behalf of the international community I wish to express my gratitude to the Government of Norway, and its partners, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and NordGen, for the remarkable accomplishment of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This is an essential global insurance policy for the international community within the framework of the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. I'm glad that this Seed Vault provides back-up protection for collections held by every country. No country can manage this huge task by itself. Sustainable food production may not begin in this cold Arctic environment, but it does begin by conserving crop diversity. They contain the essential characteristics that plant breeders and farmers will need to ensure that crops become climate-ready and even more productive. ![]() They come from virtually every country in the world. ![]() The seeds stored here in Svalbard will help us do just that. This is a very creative initiative to fight for food security in the face of climate change in a much longer term. Food security is a top UN priority and I have established a High-Level Task Force on food security in April last year. The world faces many daunting challenges today, one of the greatest of which is how to feed a growing world population in the context of climate change. It is a great privilege for me and thanks to my gracious Norwegian host, Minister Brekk, for the tour of this one-of-a-kind structure built deep in the Arctic permafrost. It is a great experience and a unique opportunity for me to visit the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It is even much, much colder than in the Arctic! I am frozen? The temperature is minus fifteen degrees! Minister Brekk, Minister Solheim, Governor Sefland, ladies and gentlemen:
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