Taiwan is to give samples of 170 millet species to the world’s “doomsday vault” in Svalbard, Norway, in case of extreme climate change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
A Taiwanese delegation is to travel to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the arctic circle to deliver the samples, the ministry said at a joint news conference in Taipei with National Central University’s Taiwan Polar Institute.
The millet seeds — the first of a series of crop seeds to be sent — would serve as a backup genetic resource to Taiwan’s domestic seed bank, the ministry said.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
The project to preserve millet seeds at the Norway-owned genetic depository dubbed the “doomsday vault” marked a milestone in the nation’s efforts to promote international scientific cooperation and sustainable development, it said.
The vault is expected to receive the millet seed package on Wednesday next week, it said.
Millet is a staple for many indigenous Taiwanese cultures and features prominently in their rituals, said university president Jou Jing-yang (周景揚), who is expected to attend the event celebrating the seeds’ delivery.
The crop plays a key role in the nation’s food security and sustainable agriculture strategy against climate warming, Jou said.
Advances in technology and the economy would not change humanity’s need for food, said Lin Hsueh-shih (林學詩), director of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute.
The council of agriculture, the ministry’s predecessor, 31 years ago established a national seed bank to secure future generations’ food supply, Lin said, adding that the monthly electricity bill to operate it is NT$10 million (US$309,837).
In 2021, the UN named last year the International Year of Millets, recognizing that the staple’s resilience to droughts, floods and cold weather could be needed to deal with the implications of extreme climate change, he said.
Low water requirements, disease resistance, high nutritional value and not needing pesticides are among other qualities that make millet suitable for regions hard-struck by global warming, Lin said.
Making use of the seed bank in Norway means Taiwan would share the seeds with other nations in need, boosting sustainability globally, he added.
The Svalbard vault, which was built on Spitsbergen island in 2004, houses sample seeds for 4.5 million species of agricultural plants, the university said in a news release.
The island is the world’s northernmost permanent settlement, it added.
The vault, designed to survive an earthquake measuring 10 on the Richter scale and a nuclear explosion, is 2km from Taiwan’s artic station, it said.
Permafrost and modern facilities achieve cold storage at the seed bank, the university said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as