Welcome address: Svalbard Global Seed Vault, UN Secretary General visit 2. Sept 2009

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this modern version of Noahs ark, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Inside these walls you will find more than 2 million seeds, from every corner of the world.

It has been in operation for only one and a half years, and so far 27 institutions located in 22 countries have deposited more than 400 000 unique seed samples for long-term back-up security storage in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

The food and climate crises have shed a new light on the need to secure the world`s crop variations. These crises are a wakeup call, reminding us of the vulnerability of the world`s food production. Food security is threatened. We need to double the global food production in the next 40 years. To meet this end every country has an obligation to provide food for its own population and preserve agricultural land resources. The main instrument for food security is the national food production. To that purpose it is crucial to have access to a diversity of plant and animal genetic resources.

As so many times before the poorest people in the world are hit the hardest. Farmers in developing countries need access to land and seeds to develop their agricultural production. They need trade rules that do not undermine every countries right to produce food for their own population. And they need national and international development programs with an increased focus on agriculture.

Maintenance of the genetic diversity in the world`s food crops is crucial to fight against hunger and poverty in third world countries. These countries have the origins of the widest plant diversity. At the same time this is where the need for food security and further development of the agriculture is most acute. To reach the UN Millennium Goals to reduce hunger and strengthen global food security, there is a global need for crop varieties adapted to climate change.

Many of the developing countries already feel the consequences of climate changes. Negative impacts of climate changes for agriculture fall hardest on Sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia. A 30% decline in maize production is expected in southern Africa over the next 20 years, if the same varieties are in the field as now. In the Andes potatoes are mountain climbing. Varieties traditionally appropriate to one elevation must be planted meters higher year after year to avoid increasing heat. But we have a solution: Breeding new varieties adapted to the new and fluctuating climates. Breeders are dependent on genetic diversity from many countries to adapt crops to changing climatic conditions. This biological diversity is under continuous threat.

The seed vault exemplifies how climate change will affect agriculture; and how the world can use plant genetic resources to be prepared. New crop varieties are needed to maintain the level of food production under the climate changes predicted for the 21st century in all IPCC scenarios. This is irrespective of any action taken today.

We must consider it an obligation to find a common understanding in Copenhagen in December, and then to act upon it. Agriculture needs to be included in this work. The need to conserve and make available crop diversity must be recognized as a fundamental component of climate change adaptation.

The Norwegian Government has recently presented a white paper on Climate change and the relationship with Agriculture and Food production. As far as I know the first White Paper focusing on this linkage. The title of the White paper is precisely “Agriculture – part of the solution”.

The international community needs to recognise the urgency of adapting agriculture to climate change. Crop diversity is a prerequisite for this adaptation. Ensuring that the genetic diversity of our crops is properly conserved and available is a basic prerequisite for feeding a warming world.

I would therefore like to emphasize the need for international action, from the FAO, UN and others, to ensure that this diversity is conserved for future generations. I would also stress the need for national and international support of breeding in crops of importance to food security, regardless of their interest for commercial breeding companies. We hope other countries follow our example in supporting and setting up an annual contribution to the benefit-sharing fund of the International Treaty. For Norway this fund represents the most direct way to increase the ability of developing country farmers to improve, conserve and utilize the crops in their fields.

To ensure food security for a growing world population we need an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen, including agriculture. We need to secure the precious soil resources and our biodiversity. We must give farmers access to land and seeds. In this work both the Seed Vault and the UN have crucial roles to fulfil. We look forward to continue our fruitful cooperation in meeting the biggest challenges the world has ever seen.

With these words I would like to start our tour of the vault.