Deep seabed mining with the current lack of knowledge on either the biodiversity or the mineral value is crazy – we will surely suffer a loss, failing intergenerational equity. Yet, Deep Sea Mining is starting.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) declares that the area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (comprising the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil, excluding the water above) (the “Area”) and its resources, are the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM). All rights in the resources of the Area are vested in mankind as a whole. UNCLOS provides that activities in the Area shall be organized, carried out and controlled by the International Seabed Authority (the “Authority”) for the benefit of mankind as a whole, on whose behalf the Authority shall act.
The Authority is finalizing the terms of extraction, and how the mineral sale proceeds are to be utilized. As a part of humankind, we demand the Authority keep the intergenerational equity principle at the center of its thinking. Our campaign demands a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters until UNCLOS is updated and we have a better understanding of our inheritance.
Organisations: Sign-on letter
Individuals: Petition