As governments gather in Kingston, Jamaica for their twenty-ninth session, two urgent agenda items: are at the forefront of the meeting: Secretary-General election and the debate over a moratorium on seabed mining. Conservation groups, Indigenous groups, scientists and policymakers are urging a moratorium on the International Seabed Authority’s practice of seabed mining.
According to a press release, “the debate on the protection of the deep sea reaches the final agenda after being blocked by pro-mining countries last year.”
“The science is clear—there can’t be deep sea mining without environmental cost and the only solution is a moratorium. The more we know about deep-sea mining, the harder it is to justify it,” Louisa Casson, campaigner with Greenpeace International Stop Deep Sea Mining, said. “Governments at the ISA must not dance to the tune of the industry and approve rushed regulations for the benefit of a few over the interests of Pacific communities and the opinion of scientists.”
The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which was was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and a related 1994 agreement, is responsible for waters not under the control of specific nations, Common Dreams reported.
According to the Associate Press, the ISA “has granted 31 mining exploration contracts,” and “much of the ongoing exploration is centered in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico.” The Mexican government endorsed a moratorium, while Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii signed a bill last week that bans because of “environmental risks and constitutional rights to have a clean and healthy environment.”
“The deep ocean sustains crucial processes that make the entire planet habitable, from driving ocean currents that regulate our weather to storing carbon and buffering our planet against the impacts of climate change,” Sofia Tsenikli, campaign leader at the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, said. “States must now protect the ocean and not allow any more damage.”
The Mining Code will continue to be negotiated amongst the ISA’s 36-member Council over the next two weeks.
A full Assembly will meet on July 29 to vote on the next secretary-general. British lawyer Michael Lodge, is the current secretary-general, but is being challenged by Leticia Carvalho from Brazil for the position. Lodge is currently being accused of trying to speed up the start of mining despite research that said it would put the oceans under threat.
“It is time for change at the ISA,” Casson said. “A third term for Michael Lodge would not only put the oceans under threat but also risk further damaging public trust in the regulator. Mining companies are impatient to get started and mounting evidence indicates that Lodge is overstepping his supposedly-neutral role to align with commercial interests.”
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