The New Scientist of 12 Jan 2006 reports that The Global Crop Diversity Trust, together with the Norwegian government and a global consortium of nations is planning to create a “Doomsday vault to avert world famine”.
The Norwegian government will hollow out a cave on the ice-bound island of Spitsbergen (just over 1,000 from the North Pole) to house a vault that will contain every single type of seed currently known to humankind. The “seed bank” will be designed to withstand global catastrophes like nuclear war or natural disasters that would destroy the planet’s sources of food. It will be available to restart agriculture in the event of a major disaster.
Now, lets just hope that everyone with a key to this environmental Fort Knox isn’t wiped out in whatever disaster the designers are anticipating.
All the seeds in the world
