The Organisation

The overall responsibility for the Seed Vault rests with the government, under the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Daily operations are overseen by the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) under an agreement between the Ministry, NordGen and the Crop Trust (formerly the Global Crop Diversity Trust) which partly provide funding for the Seed Vault’s management.

In addition, the management is overseen by an International Advisory Panel, representing depositing gene banks and stakeholders, that meets regularly for consultations.

Managed by NordGen

Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food administers the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It funds the operations and management of the facility through Statsbygg, the government institution responsible for state-owned buildings. The Governor of Svalbard is the government’s representative and has overall responsibility for the Seed Vault in Svalbard.

NordGen is responsible for the management of the Seed Vault, including seed operations and liaising with gene banks about options for conserving seeds, preparing documents, facilitating seed shipments, and receiving seeds into the Seed Vault and documenting them. Seed reception normally takes place three times a year, at regularly scheduled and pre-announced Seed Vault openings, or on occasions organised to meet unforeseen scheduling requirements.

Crop Trust partnership

Crop Trust was an important partner in the establishment of the Seed Vault and provides considerable funding for operations costs, as part of its funding scheme for the global genetic resource conservation system. The Crop Trust also assists countries and institutions by covering costs and providing technical advice for packing and shipping seeds to Svalbard.