Svalbard Global Seed Vault is world largest repository embedded in the ice of a Norwegian island and its purpose is to protect seeds.
Although there are more than thousand seed banks in the world and each seed bank has seeds of the particular region. The purpose of these seed banks is to replant the seeds of that area in case there is some disaster in that area. As long as seeds are in seed bank, there are chances of renewal of that particular plant. It was noted that during war, seed banks in both Iraq and Afghanistan were completely destroyed.
To resolve this critical issue, lot of NGOs around the world felt the need of a seed bank which should contain seeds from all around the world. That is the reason Svalbard Global Seed Vault was established. This location was carefully chosen keeping in view the environmental factors. There were no signs of tectonic activity in this area and earthquakes were unlikely to happen. It is situated above sea level so it was out of reach of ice melting. The seeds remain preserved due to the permafrost which keep them cool.
As per February 2017, there are currently 940,000 seed samples and one seed sample consists of 500 seeds. These seeds are sealed in Aluminum bag which is air tight.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault ranked at No. 6 on Time's Best Inventions of 2008. It was also awarded the Norwegian Lighting Prize in 2009