Information for depositors

All new genebanks need to sign the deposit agreement in order to store seed duplicates in Svalbard Global Seed Vault. From the Seed Vault’s side, NordGen is signing the agreement on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Once the agreement is signed, the genebank can start preparing the list of seed samples (the accession list) that are to be deposited in the Seed Vault.

Guidelines for new depositor genebanks are available in Arabic, French and Spanish, see files below.

Logistics

At least six weeks before the seed samples are sent to Svalbard, the accession list need to be delivered to NordGen. NordGen will validate the information and make a preliminary update to the database called the Seed Portal. When this is done, NordGen will contact the genebank, provide an import permission from the Norwegian state and confirm a go for shipment.

The genebank is also asked to choose a logistic partner which can deliver the seeds all the way to Svalbard, including customs at the airport in Oslo, Gardermoen. We suggest to use DHL, as this company is able to do this without complications or delays. If DHL can’t be used, some more time might be needed and NordGen must be informed before the seeds are shipped. The genebank is also asked to choose a logistic partner which can deliver the seeds all the way to Svalbard, including customs clearance at the airport in Oslo, Gardemoen. The sender needs to forward the Airway Bill-number (AWB) to NordGen, enabling us to track the parcel on its way to Svalbard.

To make sure that nothing but seed samples are stored in the Seed Vault, all seed packages are scanned at the security control at Longyearbyen airport.

Free of charge

To deposit and store seed duplicates in Svalbard Global Seed Vault is free of charge. So is the seed handling at Svalbard. However, the sending genebank is responsible for the costs associated with packning and sending the seeds.

Since NordGen doesn’t have any permanent staff at Svalbard, it is vital that the seed shipments are adapted to arrive well in time for the fixed Seed Vault openings advertised in NordGen’s calendar.

At these pre-scheduled Seed Vault deposit events,NordGen staff go to Svalbard to handle arriving seeds. After security check, the seed boxes are marked with labels informing about basic data as institute code, box number and shelf position. After placing seed boxes in the seed chamber shelves, NordGen sends a confirmation with a photo of the boxes to the depositing genebank. Afterwards, the Seed Portal is updated with new data regarding the total number of seed samples, species and depositing genebanks.

Terms and Conditions

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a facility for safe, long-term storage of duplicates of seeds stored in international, national and regional genebanks as well as genebanks in institutions and organisations. The service is free of charge and the ownership of the seeds remains with the depositing genebank. However, there are three main conditions, reflected in the Deposit Agreement, that must be fulfilled by genebanks and institutes that want to deposit safety duplicates of seeds in the Seed Vault:

1. The depositing gene bank / institute is conserving the material that is to be deposited, as a part of a long term and sustainable gene bank collection, incl. capacity and routines for multiplication of new seeds when needed.
2. The depositor should certify that the samples being deposited in the Seed Vault have been safety duplicated in a suitable genebank at another location, in order to make the Seed Vault the second security back up.
3. The depositor should agree to make available from their own stocks seed samples of the deposited genetic resources for breeding, research and education purposes on terms similar to the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Standard Material Transfer Agreement (sMTA).