Svalbard Global Seed Vault Partners Direct Princess of Asturias Prize Money Toward Safeguarding Vulnerable Seed Collections
Small hands, big inspiration. Children recreated the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for the Princess of Asturias Awards celebrations – a reminder of its power to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation to care for the crop diversity that feeds us all. Photo: FPA/Yeray Menéndez
22 October 2026
The EUR 50,000 award will support genebanks to secure important crop diversity in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
OVIEDO, Spain, 22 October 2026 – The three partners responsible for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault announced today that they will use the EUR 50,000 prize money from the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation to help genebanks safeguard important seed collections in the Seed Vault that might otherwise remain vulnerable.
The announcement was made at a press conference ahead of the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony, where the Svalbard Global Seed Vault will be recognized for its contribution to international cooperation and the long-term security of the world’s crop diversity. The seeds stored in the Seed Vault can be used by researchers and breeders in the future to develop new crop varieties adapted to the challenges the world may face.
The Government of Norway, the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen), and the Crop Trust have agreed to direct the prize money to the Emergency Reserve for Genebanks, which is jointly administered by the Crop Trust and the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
The funding will help one or more eligible genebanks prepare and deposit safety duplicates of critical seed collections in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The three partners will jointly agree on the support to be provided, prioritizing collections that could not otherwise be deposited.
“This award recognizes an extraordinary international effort to safeguard the crop diversity on which our future food security depends. By directing the prize money toward collections that still need protection, we are extending that spirit of cooperation and helping ensure that valuable seeds remain secure for future generations,” said Mr. Nils Kristen Sandtrøen, Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway.
Opened in 2008, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault provides long-term backup storage for seed collections held in genebanks around the world. Located deep inside a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, the facility protects safety duplicates against the potential loss of original collections due to natural disasters, conflict, equipment failures and other threats. The Seed Vault is owned by Norway and operated in partnership with NordGen and the Crop Trust. Its success depends on the contributions of hundreds of international, regional and national genebanks that deposit safety duplicates of their collections.
“The Seed Vault is a remarkable example of what international cooperation can achieve,” said Ms. Lene Krøl Andersen, Executive Director of NordGen. “Every deposit represents years of work by the genebanks that conserve these collections. This funding will help more of them take that important step of securing a backup in Svalbard, strengthening the global system that protects our shared crop diversity.”
The Emergency Reserve for Genebanks provides a mechanism to support genebanks facing urgent needs to safeguard their collections. By contributing the award money to the Reserve, the partners will translate international recognition into practical support for genebanks that may lack the resources to secure their collections in Svalbard.
The Emergency Reserve has already helped genebanks protect at-risk collections. In Guatemala, emergency funding helped restore damaged cold storage facilities and enabled the country's first deposit to the Seed Vault in February 2026. This safeguards more than 930 seed samples, including maize, beans and other important crops. In Ukraine, the Reserve has contributed to wider international efforts to relocate and secure the country's threatened national seed collection, including support for a new facility. These interventions show that timely support can prevent the loss of irreplaceable crop diversity.
“Receiving the Princess of Asturias Award is a tremendous honor and an opportunity to give something back to the global genebank community. The Seed Vault exists because institutions around the world have committed to protecting crop diversity and sharing responsibility for its future. We want this prize to help genebanks that need additional support, so that important collections are not left at risk simply because the resources to safeguard them are unavailable,” said Dr Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust.
In a joint statement, the three partners emphasized that the award recognizes not only their collaboration but also the extraordinary contributions of the genebanks that have entrusted the Seed Vault with their valuable collections.
The decision reflects a shared commitment to conserving crop diversity and keeping it available for everyone's benefit, forever. By helping safeguard collections that might otherwise remain vulnerable, the partners aim to ensure that the recognition received in Asturias delivers a lasting benefit to the global community.
“Crop diversity is a shared resource, and its loss anywhere diminishes the options available to farmers and breeders everywhere,” said Dr Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. “There could hardly be a more fitting use of an award for international cooperation. By directing the prize to the Emergency Reserve, the Seed Vault partners are turning recognition into action, helping genebanks respond to urgent threats and safeguard irreplaceable collections for future generations.”
As climate change, pests, diseases and other threats place increasing pressure on agriculture, conserving the world's crop diversity is essential to maintaining the options farmers and breeders will need in the future. The prize money will help protect a small but important part of that diversity and reinforce the international cooperation at the heart of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Notes for Editors
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault provides secure storage for duplicate seed samples from genebanks around the world. Seeds remain the property of the depositing institutions, and only those institutions can withdraw them. The Seed Vault does not distribute seeds for research or breeding. These remain available through the original genebank collections.
The Seed Vault is owned by Norway and managed in partnership by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen and the Crop Trust. The Crop Trust supports its ongoing operations and helps fund the preparation and shipment of seeds from developing countries. Learn more at Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Meet the Partners
The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food is the legal and administrative body of the Seed Vault and has the overall responsibility for its management, security and funding. The Ministry has assigned Statsbygg, the key adviser on construction and property to the Norwegian Government to be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the Seed Vault. For more information, see www.regjeringen.no
The Crop Trust is an international organization working to conserve crop diversity and thus protect global food and nutrition security. At the core of Crop Trust is an endowment fund dedicated to providing guaranteed long-term financial support to key genebanks worldwide. The Crop Trust supports the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and coordinates large-scale projects worldwide to secure crop diversity and make it available for use, globally forever and for the benefit of everyone. The Crop Trust is recognized as an essential element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Learn more at www.croptrust.org
NordGen is the Nordic countries’ genebank and knowledge centre for genetic resources. As the operational manager of the Seed Vault, NordGen is responsible for handling the seeds inside the Seed Vault; communicating with genebanks, and maintaining a publicly accessible online database with information on the seed samples stored in the Seed Vault (seedvault.nordgen.org). Read more about NordGen at www.nordgen.org
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