Many countries use seed banks to keep crop seeds for research and to protect crops from extinction. The problem is that many of these seed banks are damaged because of disasters or war. The Global Seed Vault opened in Norway in 2008 as a backup for local seed banks. Countries deposit packets of seeds and can later withdraw them if all of the other sources of the seeds are destroyed.

While the Global Seed Vault focuses on seed storage in case of disaster, other seed banks have working collections. These seed banks collect thousands of seeds and keep track of the traits of each plant. The seeds can then be used as gene sources. Plants with a desired trait are grown and used to breed new varieties that meet the needs of the farmers in each country. Also, many tropical plants do not have seeds that can be dried and stored frozen. These plants must be saved in local collections.

Location, Location, Location

The vault is tunneled into solid rock at a location that is high above rising sea waters and deep within the permafrost. It is designed to withstand earthquakes and nuclear blasts and will hold over 3 million types of seeds when it is full.