This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète of December 13, 2022. To subscribe, click here.
Scientists and environmental groups have taken advantage of the platform of the UN conference on biodiversity (COP15) to urge states to close the door to mining of the international seabed. While some people seem to want to go along with this position, Canada, for its part, confirms To have to that it remains open to extraction, but on condition that it is done within the framework of “strict regulations”.
Currently, around 30 exploration permits have already been granted worldwide by the International Seabed Authority (AIFM), a UN organization. They are owned by 22 companies or states and represent an area of seabed in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans that totals several hundred thousand square kilometres.
Before being able to launch projects for the exploitation of resources which would be intended in particular for the manufacture of cell phones, computers and electric vehicles, the 168 member countries of the AIFM must however agree on a regulatory framework. Three major meetings have also taken place this year and the framework could be clarified as early as 2023.
Premature
In this context, the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI), which brings together experts in marine ecosystems, argued in the context of COP15 that it would be premature to go ahead with authorizations for exploitation of mineral resources. “There has been a call from several scientists, states and members of civil society for a moratorium on seabed mining, due to the lack of knowledge and understanding of ecosystems. If we don’t know these environments well, we can’t think of managing the potential impacts of exploitation,” summarized Anna Metaxas, professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University and collaborator at DOSI, To have to.
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which advocates for better protection of the high seas, goes further in its warnings against mining at depths of hundreds or even thousands of meters. According to the group, this industry would cause significant losses for marine biodiversity and the extinction of species that are still unknown today.
It is estimated, among other things, that pollutant discharges would be impossible to control and that these ecosystems would also suffer impacts from the simple fact of the presence of this industry in these environments that have hitherto been relatively untouched by industrial activity.
“It is obvious that mining will, to a certain extent, have consequences on the marine environment, in particular near mining activities”, acknowledges Michael Lodge, Secretary General of the AIFM, on the site of the organization. He cites the “destruction of living organisms, the disappearance of habitat and the formation of sedimentary plumes”, to which are added the consequences of hydraulic leaks, damage to living things generated by noise and light.
Operation
Faced with criticism from scientists and environmentalists, French President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier this fall that France would campaign for a ban on any mining project. “I assume this position, and will take it to international forums,” he said during his visit to the UN climate conference (COP27) in Egypt in November.
Canada, for its part, refuses to close the door to any exploitation of the international seabed, while pleading for this still nascent industry to develop within a specific regulatory framework.
“Canada maintains that seabed mining should only be permitted if the marine environment can be effectively protected through strong regulation that applies a precautionary ecosystem-based approach using science-based and transparent management and that ensures compliance effective with the help of a solid inspection mechanism,” argued Natural Resources Canada in a written response to questions from the To have to.
Ottawa also says that it participates, as a member of the Council of the IAMF, “in the development of regulations on the mining of the seabed”. Canada is also collaborating on work to achieve “sufficient knowledge and regulations to ensure that all activities related to seabed mining are environmentally sustainable and science-based”.