UAE-based ICBA becomes the first research center from the Arabian peninsula to deposit seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
A Historic Milestone in Preserving UAE's Agricultural Legacy and Global Crop Resilience
Dubai, UAE – In an unprecedented journey across continents and time, Emirati seeds, collected and extensively studied at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), have reached the Arctic, where they are now securely preserved in the world's most protected agricultural time capsule—the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
This historic deposit, the first of its kind from the Gulf region, marks a pivotal step in safeguarding the future of agriculture and ensuring the long-term preservation of climate-resilient crops for generations to come.
For the first time, seeds from the UAE's pioneering agricultural research have been enshrined in the permafrost of Norway's Svalbard archipelago. This deposit includes 315 accessions belonging to 110 plant species, including Ghaf tree, the national tree of UAE, selected for their exceptional tolerance to drought, heat, and salinity—traits essential for agriculture in extreme environments. These seeds of 24 genera and 61 species, the result of ICBA's extensive research and conservation efforts, now stand alongside the world's most vital plant genetic resources.
Dr. Tarifa Alzaabi, Director General of ICBA, emphasized the far-reaching significance of this deposit, stating: "From the heart of the UAE to the Arctic permafrost, ICBA's seeds from UAE have embarked on a journey through time, ensuring future generations can access the genetic resources needed to sustain food production in a changing world. These seeds represent decades of research in plant breeding, biotechnology, and environmental adaptation. Many of these accessions have been carefully selected for their ability to thrive in extreme conditions, making them invaluable for global food security. By preserving them in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, we are securing a vital agricultural legacy that will support innovation and resilience for years to come."
A Journey Through Time: UAE Seeds in the World's Agricultural Time Capsule
Nicknamed the "Doomsday Vault", the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the ultimate safeguard for agricultural biodiversity. Located 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole, this facility is designed to protect seeds from conflict, natural disasters, climate change, and unforeseen global crises. With over 1.3 million seed samples from 6,200 plant species, it serves as the world's last-resort backup for crop diversity.
ICBA's deposit carries the agricultural DNA of the UAE and beyond—a genetic blueprint for future food security. From the sands of the Arabian Peninsula to the icy chambers of Svalbard, these seeds symbolize resilience, adaptation, and survival, encapsulating the UAE's vision for a sustainable, food-secure future.
For over two decades, ICBA has been a global leader in agricultural innovation, focusing on crops that flourish in arid and saline environments. The ICBA Genebank, home to over 17,000 accessions from 325 plant species, is among the world's most extensive collections of drought-, heat-, and salt-tolerant crops.
Preserving the Future: A Global Effort Rooted in the UAE's Vision
As global food systems face growing threats from climate change, desertification, and water scarcity, ICBA's contribution to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault reinforces the UAE's commitment to sustainability, innovation, and international collaboration. This deposit ensures that future scientists, farmers, and policymakers will have access to the seeds that hold the key to agricultural resilience.
From the UAE's arid landscapes to the frozen vaults of Svalbard, ICBA's seeds have been sealed away—not just as a safeguard for today, but as a promise for the future.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sharjah 24
a day ago
- Sharjah 24
Emirati observatory contributes to discovering new exoplanets
The achievement reinforces the UAE's active participation in leading international scientific projects aimed at deepening the understanding of the universe and exploring the potential for life beyond Earth. Eng. Khalfan Al Nuaimi, President of the International Astronomical Centre, stated that this contribution formed part of a collaboration with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The Emirati observatory employs techniques to analyse minute fluctuations in stellar brightness in order to detect planets passing in front of their host stars — a widely adopted method for discovering exoplanets. Eng. Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, Director of the Centre, added that the Al Khatim Observatory officially joined the TESS Follow-up Observing Programme (TFOP) in June 2024, following the successful completion of a rigorous training programme led by international experts, followed by a successful practical test observing a candidate planet. This accomplishment aligns with the UAE's strategic directives to strengthen its scientific leadership and contribute to global efforts to unlock the secrets of the cosmos, supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure and an ambitious vision for the future.
Al Etihad
a day ago
- Al Etihad
Greenland ice melted much faster than average in May heatwave: Scientists
11 June 2025 08:23 COPENHAGEN (AFP) Greenland's ice sheet melted 17 times faster than its average rate during a May heatwave that also affected Iceland, according to a report released by the scientific network World Weather Attribution (WWA) on Arctic region is on the frontline of global warming, heating up four times faster than the rest of the planet since 1979, according to a 2022 study in the scientific journal Nature."The melting rate of the Greenland ice sheet by, from a preliminary analysis, a factor of 17... means the Greenland ice sheet contribution to sea level rise is higher than it would have otherwise been without this heat wave," one of the authors of the report, Friederike Otto, associate professor in climate science at the Imperial College London, told reporters."Without climate change, this would have been impossible," she Iceland, the temperature exceeded 26 degrees Celsius on May 15, an unprecedented occurrence for that time of year on the subarctic island. "Temperatures over Iceland as observed this May are record-breaking, more than 13 degrees Celsius hotter than the 1991-2020 average May daily maximum temperatures," the WWA May, 94 per cent of Iceland's weather stations registered record temperatures, according to the country's meteorological eastern Greenland, the hottest day during the heatwave was about 3.9 degrees Celsius warmer compared to the preindustrial climate, the WWA said."While a heatwave that is around 20 degrees Celsius might not sound like an extreme event from the experience of most people around the world, it is a really big deal for this part of the world," Otto said."It affects the whole world massively," she to the WWA, the record highs observed in Iceland and Greenland this May could reoccur every 100 Greenland's indigenous communities, the warmer temperatures and melting ice affect their ability to hunt on the ice, posing a threat to their livelihood and traditional way of changes also affect infrastructure in the two countries. "In Greenland and Iceland, infrastructure is built for cold weather, meaning during a heatwave ice melt can lead to flooding and damage roads and infrastructure," the WWA said.
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Al Etihad
Two Emirati students join advanced research programme at Mayo Clinic
10 June 2025 00:15 HALA AL KHAYAT (ABU DHABI)Reaffirming the UAE's championing of scientific excellence, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work has announced its support for two Emirati female students to join a research training programme at the Mayo Clinic in the move enables Emirati students Moza Al Alili and Hessa Mohammed Saeed Al Mansouri to gain in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience at the Mayo Clinic and enrich the UAE's healthcare system on their programmes are a key pillar of the UAE's strategy to build a new generation of scientists, doctors, and researchers capable of keeping pace with rapid developments in medicine, science, and wise leadership of the UAE has placed educational scholarships at the forefront of its priorities, directing efforts to expand academic partnerships with world-renowned universities and research part of this vision, the Mayo Clinic - ranked among the top research hospitals in the world - has become a favoured destination for Emirati students, offering rare opportunities to engage with advanced applied research and world-class laboratories. Pioneering Research OpportunitiesAs part of the President's Scholarship for Outstanding Physicians, the foundation continues to offer advanced research opportunities for Emirati students at prestigious global institutions such as the Mayo Clinic. The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work emphasised that such support lays the foundation for refining national competencies in vital areas like medicine, science, and technology, empowering them to actively contribute to the UAE's research and innovation landscape - aligned with the nation's ambitions for a knowledge-based initiatives, the foundation noted, are not merely investments in individuals, but in the future of the nation. Every scholarship student returns equipped with the power of knowledge, helping to elevate the UAE's standing in the global medical and research arenas. Moza Al Alili: Emirati Researcher Charting Path in GeneticsEmirati student Moza Mohammed Al Alili, a third-year PhD student at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University, specialises in Biomedical Sciences. She began her academic journey with a bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, graduating with honours. Throughout her studies, she focused closely on genetic disorders related to mitochondrial DNA. After graduation, she worked for three years as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Khalifa Medical City in Ajman before fully committing to Alili pursued her master's degree in Medical Sciences – Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the UAE University. Her thesis explored RNA analysis in type 2 diabetes and its relation to bone Al Alili is working on her PhD dissertation, which investigates genetic changes in type 2 diabetes associated with obesity, focusing on how the condition affects bone and the mechanisms of osteocyte (bone cell) communication under disease conditions."My research aims to understand the 'language' of cells through extracellular vesicles - highly specialised communication tools - which could open new doors to more precise and effective treatments," Al Alili Alili is the first PhD student at the UAE University to have her research included in the field of extracellular vesicle extraction, a speciality not yet available at the to a research grant from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work, under the President's Scholarship for Distinguished Physicians, Al Alili has been given a unique opportunity to train in the Mayo Clinic began her training in early June, in a programme lasting from three months up to a year, under the supervision of Dr. Naureen Javed, an expert in physiology and biomedical Alili said that this technique helps identify the "language" of cells through biological receptors released in vesicles, aiding in the understanding of healing mechanisms and the development of molecular-level Alili emphasised that her achievements would not have been possible without the strong support of the UAE's wise leadership and national institutions - chief among them the Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation, which opens doors to world-class research and training opportunities."The UAE gives every citizen the chance to grow and supports highly specialised fields that meet the needs of our era," she adds that her goal is to bring this advanced knowledge back home and contribute to developing treatments that reinforce the UAE's leadership in the health and research sectors. Hessa Al Mansouri: Sustainable Health Solutions Come from the LabA graduate student at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University, Hessa Mohammed Al Mansouri, believes that scientific research is not just an academic choice but a vital necessity for advancing medicine in the UAE and achieving local scientific self-sufficiency. Al Mansouri is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies at the UAE University's medical college. She was nominated by the university and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work to apply for the Visiting Research Trainee Programme at the Mayo Clinic lab focuses on extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by beta cells, aiming to understand subtle changes in their content and how these impact cellular communication during the progression of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes."This kind of research directly touches the future of healthcare, as it paves the way for discovering biomarkers that aid in more accurate diabetes diagnosis and in using them as targets for genetic or cellular therapy. The research we conduct today may make a difference in the lives of millions of patients in the future," Al Mansouri passion for scientific research began during her undergraduate years, where she realised the importance of deeply understanding the biological mechanisms of chronic diseases-especially diabetes, which remains one of the region's most significant health challenges."The deeper I dive into understanding the disease from a research perspective, the more I'm convinced that sustainable solutions come from the lab, and that a physician-researcher is the one truly capable of changing patients' lives," Al Mansouri sees her experience at the Mayo Clinic as a rare opportunity to acquire advanced research skills in a rigorous scientific environment - skills she hopes to use to help develop local research programmes led by Emirati talent."I aspire to be part of a fully integrated Emirati research ecosystem, one that contributes to innovative treatment solutions for chronic diseases and places the UAE at the forefront of global medical innovation," she completing her experience at Mayo Clinic, Al Mansouri hopes to transfer the knowledge gained back to the UAE by helping establish specialised research centres in diagnostic medicine and gene therapy, and by participating in the development of academic programmes that support a new generation of physician-researchers."In the UAE, we have the will, the resources, and supportive leadership. What we need now, as young people, is to take responsibility for turning these opportunities into scientific achievements that serve humanity," Al Mansouri also expressed her deep gratitude to the UAE's wise leadership for their commitment and care towards students, and their belief in the role of youth in national development by providing them with exceptional educational and research Mansouri extended special thanks to the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work for its continuous support and pioneering efforts in offering academic, practical, and research development opportunities at prestigious international institutions. She noted that this support is not just a show of trust - it's a true investment in the nation's future and a firm belief in the capabilities of Emirati youth to excel and contribute meaningfully to the development journey. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
