All seeds are safe

2017.05.23

Statement on Water Intrusion at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the world's backup for crop collections. It currently safeguards more than 930,000 different varieties. It has been reported that the Seed Vault has seen water intrusion due to melting permafrost. The Royal Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Norway, the Crop Trust, and NordGen would like to assure seed depositors and the public that the seeds are completely safe and no damage has been done to the facility. The Royal Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Statsbygg, Norway, is taking appropriate measures to ensure the protection of the Seed Vault and improve the construction to prevent future incidents. Globally, the Seed Vault is, and will continue to be, the safest backup of crop diversity.

Pål Vidar Sollie, Director General, The Royal Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Norway Marie Haga, Executive Director, The Crop Trust Lise Lykke Steffensen, Executive Director, NordGen Hege Njaa Aschim, Director of Communications, Statsbygg, Norway

Construction improvements

In order to prevent water from coming into the entrance of the Seed Vault construction in the future, Statsbygg, which is the Norwegian government's property manager and developer, have started on a series of measures and building operations and improvements; removal of heart sources, drainage measures and a new watertight wall. More details about ongoing work can be found on

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