Global Seed Bank Opens For Syria to Save Crops Lost to War

In an attempt to save Syrian crops, the world's only "seed vault" will open its doors for scientists from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Syria has been facing extreme drought conditions for many years, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This drought, brought on by climate change, contributed to the Syrian uprising that began in 2011. Now, retrieving some of the seeds they put in the vault may be their only hope to revive their agricultural industry. 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located in the Norwegian Arctic and was built in 2008, roughly 800 miles from the North Pole. The researchers asked that some of the seeds be sent back to increase current crop yields that are threatened by drought and war.

This vault contains roughly 850,000 seeds from tens of thousands of varieties of essential food crops such as beans, wheat and rice. Some say it was originally built in preparation for any future nuclear war of worldwide catastrophe, but its official purpose is for worldwide sustainability. This vault is fully funded by the Norwegian government, with the responsibility for operations assigned to The Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

Since the vault is built so far north and located in rock 393.7 feet deep, the rooms remain naturally frozen, according to the international non-profit Crop Trust. This is important for seed health that would otherwise be threatened by a failed cooling system or rising temperatures from climate change, according.

"The collection holds some of the world's most important diversity of Wheat, Barley, Grasspea and other crops," researchers said in a statement. "This diversity provides our scientists, breeders and farmers the raw material needed to improve agriculture to overcome the challenges of climatic changes, population growth, pests, and diseases." 

An interactive tour of the vault can be found online. 

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