Svalbard Global Seed Vault Receives 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
The entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault emerges from the mountainside. Photo: Mari Tefre/Crop Trust
21 May 2026
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, one of Spain’s most prestigious international honors. The award recognizes the Seed Vault’s role in safeguarding global crop diversity and promoting international cooperation around food security and agricultural resilience.
Located deep inside a mountain on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, the Seed Vault serves as a global backup for the world’s genebanks. Opened in 2008, it stores duplicate seed samples from around the world to protect crops against threats such as natural disasters, conflict, climate change, policy failures and biodiversity loss.
The award announcement highlights the Vault as a symbol of international trust and cooperation. Managed through a partnership between the Norwegian Government, NordGen and the Crop Trust, the facility now safeguards more than 1.3 million seed samples from thousands of plant species contributed by genebanks worldwide.
“The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is special because of the seeds and also the level of trust and cooperation behind them,” said Dr Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust. “At a time when so much in the world divides us, the Seed Vault shows that nations are still willing to come together to protect something that belongs to all humanity – our ability to feed ourselves in the future. We are deeply grateful to our partners and honored by this recognition from the Princess of Asturias Foundation.”