The largest global grain store in the world in the Arctic received a large new batch of seeds, such as the prince flower from Prince Charles and the sacred corn of the Cherokee Indians, to constitute a guarantee of biological diversity in the face of risks, especially climatic ones.

The storehouse, which resembles a "Noah's Ark", contains more than 60,000 samples of seeds tightly stored in multi-colored boxes.

The seed bank, owned by 35 regional and international institutions, was set up in the mountainous region of Longyearbyen, in Norway's Svalbard Islands, located in the far north of the planet less than 1,000 km from the North Pole.

This seed reserve was established in 2008, primarily to be a safety valve that guarantees the survival of these species, in the event of a natural disaster on the ground, war, disease, climate change, etc.

"With the increase in climate change and the decline in biological diversity, there is an urgent need to make efforts to save food crops threatened with extinction," said Stephan Schmidt, director of the project's partner company, the Trust Trust.

One more guarantee
The Svalbard store is a last guarantee for about 1700 genebanks worldwide, and aspires to contribute to the conservation of plants that will provide sustenance to the world whose population is increasing and its temperature increasing.

The new batch includes basic crops such as wheat and rice, as well as less widespread wild species such as European Forest Apples.

With the arrival of the new batch, the warehouse includes 1.05 million species stored at 18 degrees Celsius in the basements of the underground, which can accommodate 4,5 million of them.

Among the parties that sent seeds this time are Cherokee Indians, who are the first Indians on the American continent to contribute to the Svalbard warehouse with beans, pumpkin and corn, especially the white eagle, a species that is respected by this people.

For his part, Prince Charles sent the seeds of 27 wild plants, including primrose and orchids.

"The task of convincing people of the primary role of diversity in maintaining ecosystems has been exhausting and sometimes frustrating," the Prince of Wales said in a statement.

"The move has become more urgent than ever before to protect diversity before it is too late," he added.

Majestic entrance

There are no indications on the outside of the existence of this vital storehouse of humankind except for its majestic entrance. It exits the ground with two tall gray walls topped with mirrors and metal parts that stand out in the darkness of the polar winter.

Stephen Schmidt told AFP that access to a million or three million samples "would be a good thing to make the future of human nutrition safer."

The need for this store proved through the Syrian conflict, as the researchers were able to retrieve seed samples deposited in it after it disappeared in the destruction of the gene bank in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

More than 5,000 plant species have become stockpiled in this archipelago near the Arctic where, paradoxically, nothing grows. Among other paradoxes, the fortified place built to withstand climate change is also a victim of warming.

In 2016, a water leak occurred in the entrance tunnel due to the melting of the permafrost caused by the high temperature. Norway then spent $ 20 million to consolidate the store with a new, tightly tuned new entry tunnel in a hot and humid environment.

Scientists report that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the Earth.