The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole.
The author argues that the global resource base is shifting from geology (oil & metal) to biology (genes). He envisions that "Conflicts may arise between gene-rich, technology-poor countries that control the basic raw materials of a biobased economy and gene-poor, technology-rich nations that control the production methods" and that "homeland defense will have to consider heartland defense, as agricultural fields will assume the same significance as oil fields."
The world's gene banks, the Noah's Arks of biodiversity, are themselves at risk, according to scientists. They say the banks' funding is often precarious, and many collections are not sustainable for very much longer.