斯瓦爾巴德島全球種子庫（Svalbard Global Seed Vault）於慶祝成立3週年當天，迎接遠從秘魯和加拉巴戈斯群島運送來的稀有利馬豆種子、抗枯萎病哈密瓜、和始祖級富含抗氧化劑的紅色蕃茄。
到來的種子將被收藏在挪威最北部和北極中間，位於北極圈的一座山底下。這些種子將被深埋在斯匹次卑爾根（Spitsbergen）的斯瓦爾巴德島上地下400公尺的永久凍土内。
種子庫自2008年2月26日成立以來，即被封上末日種子庫（Doomsday Seed Vault）的名號。庫中收藏的 60萬種子樣本保存溫度設在攝氏零下18度（華氏零度）的環境當中，目的為一旦發生區域或全球性糧食危機時，作爲全球作物育種備份。
一年一度的種子載運項目包括了從基因庫（gene banks）送來的種子。該庫由國際農業研究諮商小組（Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research）負責運作，也是種子庫的最大單一捐贈者。
載運項目中還有一種秘魯瀕臨滅絕的沙漠利馬豆品種，所幸因總部位於哥倫比亞的國際熱帶農業研究中心而得以延續下來。除此之外，還有其他生長在非常乾燥或高海拔地區的同屬利馬豆品種。
總體而言，這次由國際熱帶農業研究中心提供的項目，囊括從94個國家如阿富汗、尼泊爾、葉門、越南和辛巴布威收集到的3600種豆類和草料樣本。
全球農作物多樣性信託基金會常務董事佛勒表示：「由於農業面臨的威脅加劇，加強作物多樣性更顯得重要。」佛勒、挪威政府、和位於瑞典的北歐遺傳資源中心，共同負責管理斯瓦爾巴德島全球種子庫。
佛勒還指出，埃及一月底發生的政治動亂，最終導致其北西奈省的埃及沙漠基因庫（Egyptian Desert Gene Bank）遭洗劫。該基因庫有珍貴的水果和藥用植物收藏。儘管種子未遭破壞，打劫者偷走了庫中設備、搗毀冷卻系統、並破壞了具十多年研究價值的數據。
與此同時，基金會正在為俄羅斯一田間收集地區，巴甫洛夫斯克實驗站，也是歐洲最重要的水果和漿果產地的一項房地產開發案而戰。
為了跟上全球氣候迅速變化的腳步，全球農作物多樣性信託基金會正積極收集培育作物物種的野生近緣植物。挪威政府撥款5000萬美元支持該項目，讓基金會得以展開全球性搜索，進行對小麥、大米、豆類、馬鈴薯、大麥、小扁豆、鷹嘴豆野生近緣物種、和其他可能含有珍貴遺傳特性，不可或缺糧食作物的保育工作。
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault celebrated its third anniversary today with the arrival of seeds for rare lima beans, blight-resistant cantaloupe, and progenitors of antioxidant-rich red tomatoes from Peru and the Galapagos Islands.
The seeds arrived for safekeeping in the depths of an arctic mountain located halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole; 400 meters below the ground, deep in the permafrost of the island of Svalbard, Spitsbergen.
Opened on February 26, 2008, and dubbed the Doomsday Seed Vault, the facility holds 600,000 seed samples at -18 degrees Celsius (zero degrees Fahrenheit) as a backup for crop genetic resources worldwide in the case of regional or global crises.
The anniversary seed shipment includes major deposits from genebanks maintained by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the largest single contributor of seeds to the vault.
Among the shipments is a Peruvian desert lima bean variety on the verge of extinction that was rescued by the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, as well as other lima beans and relatives that grow in very dry or high-altitude locations.
In total, CIAT's new shipments include 3,600 bean and forage samples collected from 94 countries, including Afghanistan, Nepal, Yemen, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
"As the threats to agriculture escalate, the importance of crop diversity grows," said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which manages the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in partnership with the Norwegian government and the Nordic Genetic Resources Center in Sweden.
Political unrest in Egypt at the end of January led to the looting of the Egyptian Desert Gene Bank in North Sinai, repository for a prized collection of fruit and medicinal plants, said Fowler. Looters stole equipment, destroyed the facility's cooling system, and ruined data that represented more than a decade worth of research, although the seeds were not destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Trust is fighting plans to bulldoze the field collections at Russia's Pavlovsk Experimental Station, Europe's most important collection of fruits and berries, to make way for a housing development.
To keep pace with rapid changes in the global climate, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is moving to collect wild relatives of domesticated crops. With the support of a US$50 million grant from the government of Norway, the Trust is participating in a global search to locate and conserve wild relatives of wheat, rice, bean, potato, barley, lentils, chickpea, and other essential food crops that could contain valuable genetic traits.
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In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
