India deposits rice, wheat seeds in Svalbard Vault

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India deposits rice, wheat seeds in Svalbard Vault

New Delhi, July 1:: India deposited seeds of two varieties of rice and three varieties of wheat in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault near Longearbyen in Norway on Tuesday

The indigenous rice seed deposited in the vault are IR-36 and IR-64 and that of wheat are Lerma Rojo, Sonoro-64 and Ridley.

The Indian Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Kapil Sibal, upon the invitation of the Norwegian Government visited the Svalbard Global Seed Vault near Longearbyen and deposited Indian rice and wheat seeds.

According to an official press release, Sibal was accompanied by the Director and the Coordinator of the Seed Vault and visited the tunnel. Along with Sibal symbolic deposit of some indigenous seeds was also made by the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Annette Schavan. This was the first ever visit of any Indian minister to the climatically harsh Arctic region.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault's declared mission is to provide a safety net against accidental loss of diversity in traditional gene banks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts and natural disasters. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is supposed to be a secure seed-bank located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the township of Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago.

Spitsbergen is said to be an ideal location due to the lack of tectonic activity and its permafrost can aid preservation according to some experts. The location 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level can ensure that the site remains dry even if the icecaps melt. Locally mined coal used for power generation to meet the needs of refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard −20 to −30 °C (0 to −20 °F). Even if the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the temperature rises to the −3°C (30 °F) of the surrounding sandstone bedrock – the facility has a capacity to conserve 4.5 million.