Post by Andrei Tchentchik on May 1, 2020 11:29:23 GMT 2
(.#A.088).- One million varieties of seeds stored in the Arctic.
One million varieties of seeds stored in the Arctic.
(Longyearbyen) Primroses of Prince Charles, sacred corn of the Cherokee Indians ... Nestled in the Arctic, the world's largest seed reserve on Tuesday welcomed a large shipment of seeds, a life insurance policy for biodiversity in the face of dangers, including climatic.
Posted on February 25, 2020 at 4:02 pm
MARK SABBATINI WITH PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES IN OSLO
FRANCE MEDIA AGENCY
Owned by 35 regional and international institutions, more than 60,000 samples of seeds sealed in multi-colored boxes have joined this "Noah's Ark" buried in a mountain near Longyearbyen, capital of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (Spitzbergen) , 1300 kilometers from the North Pole.
PHOTO BOB STRONG, REUTERS
"As the rate of climate change and biodiversity loss increase, a new urgency is emerging in efforts to save food crops from extinction," said Stefan Schmitz, director of the Crop Trust, one of the partners of the project.
The ultimate safety net for some 1,700 genetic banks around the world, the Svalbard reserve aims to preserve plants capable of feeding an ever more populous and warmer planet.
"Each of the seeds [...] contains potential solutions for sustainable agriculture," said Lise Lykke Steffensen, director of genetic bank for the Nordic states. "Vital solutions to feed a growing population and succeed in the green transition".
The new arrival includes staple crops such as wheat and rice, as well as less common wild varieties such as European apple trees.
PHOTO LISE ASERUD, AFP
Representatives from several countries and universities arrive with new boxes containing seeds from around the world
The list of depositors includes the Cherokee Nation, the first American Indians to abound the Svalbard reserve with beans, squash and corn seeds, notably White Eagle corn, the most sacred variety in their eyes.
Prince Charles sent seeds of 27 wild plants, including primroses and orchids, collected in the meadows of Highgrove, his country residence.
"It has proven to be an exhausting and often demoralizing task to persuade people of the absolutely essential role played by all this diversity in maintaining vibrant and healthy ecosystems," said the Prince of Wales in a statement.
"It is more urgent than ever to act to protect this diversity before it is really too late," he added.
A million varieties
The new batch of seeds brings to 1.05 million the number of varieties stored at an optimal temperature of -18 ° C in three underground alcoves which can accommodate 4.5 million.
Outside, nothing betrays the presence of this vital granary for humanity, except its monumental entrance: emerging from the earth's entrails, two high gray walls surmounted by mirrors and metallic parts form a prism that stands out in the darkness of the polar winter.
PHOTO LISE ASERUD, AFP
Reaching two or three million samples "would be a good thing to make the future of human nutrition even more secure," Stefan Schmitz, bundled up to withstand the prevailing -16 ° C, told AFP. in Longyearbyen.
Inaugurated in 2008 with Norwegian funding, the structure was initially intended to be a safeguard against natural disasters, wars and the imperatives of men, which earned it the other nickname "vault of the Last Judgment".
If the message is now less alarmist, the usefulness of the reserve was bluntly highlighted by the Syrian conflict: the researchers were thus able to recover the duplicates of seeds disappeared in the destruction of the gene bank of the city of 'Aleppo.
More than 5000 plant species are now stored on the Arctic archipelago where, paradoxically, almost nothing grows due to the high latitudes.
Another paradox, the vault supposed to be a parade against climate change has itself been the victim of global warming.
In 2016, it underwent water infiltration at the entrance tunnel due to the melting of permafrost, this ground supposed to be permanently frozen but nevertheless victim that year of the rise in the thermometer.
Norway has since spent 20 million euros on works to increase the resistance of the reserve, notably with a new airtight access tunnel, in an increasingly hot and humid environment.
Scientists say the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the whole planet.
F I N .
One million varieties of seeds stored in the Arctic.
(Longyearbyen) Primroses of Prince Charles, sacred corn of the Cherokee Indians ... Nestled in the Arctic, the world's largest seed reserve on Tuesday welcomed a large shipment of seeds, a life insurance policy for biodiversity in the face of dangers, including climatic.
Posted on February 25, 2020 at 4:02 pm
MARK SABBATINI WITH PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES IN OSLO
FRANCE MEDIA AGENCY
Owned by 35 regional and international institutions, more than 60,000 samples of seeds sealed in multi-colored boxes have joined this "Noah's Ark" buried in a mountain near Longyearbyen, capital of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (Spitzbergen) , 1300 kilometers from the North Pole.
PHOTO BOB STRONG, REUTERS
"As the rate of climate change and biodiversity loss increase, a new urgency is emerging in efforts to save food crops from extinction," said Stefan Schmitz, director of the Crop Trust, one of the partners of the project.
The ultimate safety net for some 1,700 genetic banks around the world, the Svalbard reserve aims to preserve plants capable of feeding an ever more populous and warmer planet.
"Each of the seeds [...] contains potential solutions for sustainable agriculture," said Lise Lykke Steffensen, director of genetic bank for the Nordic states. "Vital solutions to feed a growing population and succeed in the green transition".
The new arrival includes staple crops such as wheat and rice, as well as less common wild varieties such as European apple trees.
PHOTO LISE ASERUD, AFP
Representatives from several countries and universities arrive with new boxes containing seeds from around the world
The list of depositors includes the Cherokee Nation, the first American Indians to abound the Svalbard reserve with beans, squash and corn seeds, notably White Eagle corn, the most sacred variety in their eyes.
Prince Charles sent seeds of 27 wild plants, including primroses and orchids, collected in the meadows of Highgrove, his country residence.
"It has proven to be an exhausting and often demoralizing task to persuade people of the absolutely essential role played by all this diversity in maintaining vibrant and healthy ecosystems," said the Prince of Wales in a statement.
"It is more urgent than ever to act to protect this diversity before it is really too late," he added.
A million varieties
The new batch of seeds brings to 1.05 million the number of varieties stored at an optimal temperature of -18 ° C in three underground alcoves which can accommodate 4.5 million.
Outside, nothing betrays the presence of this vital granary for humanity, except its monumental entrance: emerging from the earth's entrails, two high gray walls surmounted by mirrors and metallic parts form a prism that stands out in the darkness of the polar winter.
PHOTO LISE ASERUD, AFP
Reaching two or three million samples "would be a good thing to make the future of human nutrition even more secure," Stefan Schmitz, bundled up to withstand the prevailing -16 ° C, told AFP. in Longyearbyen.
Inaugurated in 2008 with Norwegian funding, the structure was initially intended to be a safeguard against natural disasters, wars and the imperatives of men, which earned it the other nickname "vault of the Last Judgment".
If the message is now less alarmist, the usefulness of the reserve was bluntly highlighted by the Syrian conflict: the researchers were thus able to recover the duplicates of seeds disappeared in the destruction of the gene bank of the city of 'Aleppo.
More than 5000 plant species are now stored on the Arctic archipelago where, paradoxically, almost nothing grows due to the high latitudes.
Another paradox, the vault supposed to be a parade against climate change has itself been the victim of global warming.
In 2016, it underwent water infiltration at the entrance tunnel due to the melting of permafrost, this ground supposed to be permanently frozen but nevertheless victim that year of the rise in the thermometer.
Norway has since spent 20 million euros on works to increase the resistance of the reserve, notably with a new airtight access tunnel, in an increasingly hot and humid environment.
Scientists say the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the whole planet.
F I N .
