DEEP-SEA mining is less a question of discovery and more a question of decisions shaping future political and economic arrangements, according to Theresa Arriola, Blue Ocean Law Director of Operations and Chairwoman of Our Common Wealth 670.

As one of the presenters at Pacific Centre for Island Sustainability’s Micronesia Security webinar last Friday, Arriola said the process of leasing acres of seabed in the Pacific Ocean and kickstarting commercial deep-sea mining for minerals reveals a familiar pattern in which the administration lacks accountability and ignores Pacific islands’ sovereignty.

“Once those arrangements are in place, they can influence which alternatives are available, which investments are encouraged, et cetera. It starts to snowball. The anticipated strategic value of minerals is already becoming a basis for federal action, even though many of the assumptions underlining that value are unresolved,” Arriola said.

Especially considering how local governments in the Pacific Islands are or are not being consulted or accommodated, Arriola’s presentation focused on deep-sea mining in the context of security and militarisation in Micronesia.

As of July, 46 countries called for a moratorium, precautionary pause or ban on commercial deep-sea mining, including several Pacific Island countries.

Arriola said these countries are not all advancing the same policy, but they are raising concerns about moving into commercial mining before understanding the consequences.

SOURCE: PACNEWS