KINGSTON, Jamaica— Government officials and observers from around the world are convening in Jamaica Monday to discuss deep-sea mining at the 31st session of the International Seabed Authority.
More than 40 governments, including Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom, have taken positions against deep-sea mining in international waters, supporting a moratorium until more is learned about its environmental risks. But the Trump administration’s decision to unilaterally begin a process to authorize mining has raised the question of whether the ISA must also act to protect the ocean environment, as noted in a briefing document delivered this week to the organization.
“Deep-sea mining companies were already putting inappropriate pressure on this international body, and now they have an irresponsible ally in the United States,” said Alejandro Olivera, senior scientist and Mexico representative at the Center for Biological Diversity, who is attending the meeting. “The ISA’s purpose is to manage the seabed as the common heritage for all, and they shouldn’t hand it over piecemeal to whichever company can move fastest and push hardest. This cooperative global framework is being tested right now by companies trying to go around the process, and it’s threatening the deep-sea ecosystem we're only beginning to understand.”
The meeting will continue discussions on a long-delayed international mining code that would govern commercial extraction of polymetallic nodules and other minerals from the ocean floor. Much of the debate so far has centered on whether sufficient knowledge exists to develop a code.
More recent discussions have turned to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast stretch of international seabed between Hawaii and Mexico that holds the largest known concentration of ISA exploration contracts and is the primary target of companies seeking to begin deep-sea mining. The ISA has issued 31 exploration contracts to 21 contractors sponsored by 20 countries; most of the contracts (17) are for the CCZ, sponsored by China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, the UK and others.
The United States, which is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or the ISA, is attempting to bypass the ISA process entirely and is considering issuing exploration and extraction permits for the CCZ in response to five applications filed under the U.S. Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. The ISA is expected to consider at this session whether to seek a legal opinion on whether companies that also hold ISA exploration contracts may be acting inconsistently with their international obligations by pursuing parallel U.S. permits.
"I hope we get a deep-sea mining moratorium out of this meeting and can put an end to unilateral permitting. It would be tragic to lose these complex deep-sea environments to rogue actors before we even know very much about the incredible creatures that live there,” said Olivera.
The CCZ is connected ecologically with both Hawaii and Mexico, sharing whales, sharks, migratory tuna, sea turtles and other wildlife. Research has shown that exploration and mining destroy the microhabitats of the nodules that are mined while also damaging the seabed for decades, polluting the ocean and food web, and generating sediment plumes and noise that smother and disturb marine life far beyond the mined area.
More information on the Center's positions on ISA regulations, the U.S. domestic licensing threat and the CCZ's biodiversity can be found in the Center's briefing document.
