Inside the Doomsday Vault: Safeguarding our future seeds
Nestled deep within the permafrost of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault serves as a last-resort safeguard for the world’s agricultural biodiversity. Dubbed the ‘Doomsday Vault,’ this facility—carved into the side of a mountain—houses over a million seed samples from nearly every country, ensuring the conservation of vital crops against threats like climate change, war and natural disasters.
Since 2008, CIFOR-ICRAF has been at the forefront of safeguarding biodiversity, securing over 1 million seeds from 177 species in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
On February 25, 2025, an additional 120,000 seeds from 13 native African tree species—including the iconic baobab—will be deposited, strengthening global efforts to preserve vital genetic resources. This milestone brings CIFOR-ICRAF’s total contributions to over 1.1 million.
Why do we need tree species diversity?
With a good range of tree species, forests can provide abundant food, support complex wildlife, enrich ecological processes, and withstand disease outbreaks. Genetic diversity helps trees adjust to shifts in climate, compete against new pests, and take advantage of shifting resource availability.
But of the 60,000 known tree species worldwide, 30% are threatened with extinction. Nearly half of all species are members of just 10 families and 58% are endemic to just one country. And millions of species of plants, animals, insects and bacteria rely on specific tree species to survive. This means that the threats that knock down trees – agriculture and grazing, logging and harvesting, and climate change and extreme weather – can create a domino effect reverberating through ecosystems and human society.
This feature showcases how CIFOR-ICRAF is leading the way in the conservation of tree species, including native tree species critical for food and climate resilience in Africa and around the globe.
News
Photos
