![]() The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which oversees a Multilateral System for Access and Benefit-sharing of plant genetic resources, provides the international legal framework needed for the establishment of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault by Government of Norway. This month, 19 391 new seed samples from 11 genebanks around the world, including those from indigenous communities, were deposited at the Global Seed Vault. The Seed Vault only opens for deposits twice a year, once in summer, once in winter. “It is impossible to say what will happen here in the future therefore, it is very important to have duplicates of our seeds stored in a safe place, such as Svalbard.” “Neither Lithuania or the other Baltic states are currently very safe places,” explained Bronislovas Gelvonauskis, Advisor of Forest Genetic Resources Department of State Forest Service of Lithuania. ![]() The seeds are part of our global heritage,” explained Ángeles Gómez Borrego, Vice-President of International Relations of the Superior Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), who accompanied the seeds to Svalbard to witness the handover. There have also been interchanges with Latin America and more recently, Florida and California. There were the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans… then there are the strong Arab influences. “Spain historically is a country of great change. The deposit of seeds from each country is a significant moment, due to the huge diversity of material from the countries. This, he explained, takes time especially for those with a low germination rate. “Spain has some very unique seeds, some we all know – different types of tomato, peppers, and cabbages, saffron and garlic – but then there are the neglected legumes used in the past but rarely cultivated nowadays that represent the loss of plant diversity in our diets.”ĭirector Pereira described how it was important for the genebanks in Spain to regenerate and multiply seeds at risk, to ensure the country had a good base collection. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for six years,” said Luis Guersch Pereira, Director of the Plant Genetic Resources Center of Spain’s National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), describing the challenges they had to overcome to make this first deposit. Spain’s deposit contained 979 seed samples of 102 species. This is an important contribution to fostering regional and global biodiversity and the recognition of Lithuanian seed breeders, who are celebrating the 100 th anniversary this year," said Simonas Gentvilas, the Lithuanian Minister of Environment. “The Nordic Centre for Genetic Resources will ensure the preservation of Lithuania's most valuable plant seeds for future generations. Lithuania deposited 123 seed samples of 28 varying species, including forage plants as well as cereals and vegetables, in the -18 degree Celsius Global Seed Vault. It was an occasion for the two countries to celebrate. Two days later a box arrived from Lithuania. Svalbard, Norway – 11 June 2022: Through clear Arctic skies, the small plane carrying 10 precious boxes of seeds from Spain arrived at Svalbard airport on the morning of the 7 th of June. Svalbard Global Seed Vault Welcomes First Ever Seed Deposits from Spain and Lithuania ![]() Training and Capacity Development Programme.Selected Information Resources, Useful Links and Outreach Events.Interrelations between the International Treaty and the relevant international instruments of UPOV and WIPO.Actions and initiatives by the Governing Body on Farmers’ Rights.Submissions on the implementation of Article 6.The Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Sustainable Use.Implementation of Programme of Work on Sustainable Use of PGRFA.Submissions on digital sequence information (DSI).International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture ![]()
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