The BOLD Project
Start year: 2021
Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (BOLD) is a 10-year project to strengthen food and nutrition security worldwide by supporting the conservation and use of crop diversity.
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Harnessing Crop Diversity To Adapt To The Climate Crisis
Funded with USD 58 million from the Government of Norway and launched in 2021, it builds on the work and achievements of the decade-long Crop Wild Relatives Project (2011-2021).
BOLD will support 15 national genebanks worldwide to conserve their existing collections, develop new crop diversity through partnerships with breeders, and collaborate with farmers to use that diversity in their fields.
Diversity For Long-term Impact
BOLD directly contributes to Target 2.5 of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 to “maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.”
Biodiversity is crucial for sustainable food systems. This understanding is part of the reason for Norway’s establishment of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. We are pleased to support BOLD as it effectively translates conservation of crop diversity in genebanks into development outcomes related to food security.
Emergency Reserve for Genebanks
The Emergency Reserve for Genebanks is a component of BOLD. Established jointly by the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Crop Trust, the Reserve provides a funding mechanism that can respond rapidly whenever there is an imminent threat to collections of crop diversity that fall under the framework of the International Plant Treaty.
Svalbard Seed Vault Grant
Because seeds don’t last forever, not even in genebanks, the Crop Trust and partners will help genebanks and other seed collection holders in their efforts to regenerate and back up crop diversity collections in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The recipient of the Svalbard Seed Vault Grant will be announced soon.
Events
Norwegian Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim at GLF Climate 2021
6 Nov 2021
Key Partners
Crop Trust (facilitator)
- International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty)
- Nordic Genetic Resource Center
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Supporters
- Government of Norway