PBS: Svalbard Seed Vault More Vital, Imperiled by Climate Change

Inside the Arctic Circle, set into the permafrost, the Global Seed Vault protects the future of the planet’s food crops. This initiative in Svalbard, Norway has been collecting the world’s seeds since 1984 and is the world’s most essential seed bank.

But today, even as the practice of saving our diminishing plant diversity is more important than ever, it is also more imperiled. Climate change is, of course, the cause.

The bay beyond the seed vault portal is now ice-free in the winter due to climate change. Photo: Crop Trust under Creative Commons license

The PBS Newshour took a look at the vault and its challenges and it is fascinating, sobering viewing. Watch the segment.