Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation 2026

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway has been granted the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, as announced today by the Jury responsible for conferring said Award. Convened by the Princess of Asturias Foundation, the Jury for this Award was chaired by Gustavo Suarez-Pertierra and composed of several members. This candidature was put forward by Manuel Toharia Cortes, Jury member for the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is an underground seed bank located on the island of Spitsbergen, in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Opened in 2008, it occupies an area of more than a thousand square metres, spread over three warehouses. Its goal is to safeguard the diversity of crop seeds in order to guarantee future supply in case of loss due to natural disasters, human conflicts, policy changes, mismanagement or any other circumstance. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is owned and administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway. The Nordic Genetic Resources Center (NordGen) operates the facility and maintains a public online database of samples stored in the Vault. The Crop Trust provides financial support for Seed Vault operations and seed deposits from developing countries. Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon described the Vault as a "global insurance policy" and a "gift to humanity and a symbol of peace" during a visit to Svalbard in 2009. With a humanitarian purpose, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) international system for the conservation of plant genetic resources.