Page 11 - IB April 2022

Oceans Oceans

Debate between governments They highlight repeated United Nations resolutions that
The new parliamentarians’ initiative comes at a time of call on Administering Powers “to ensure that the exploitation
widespread international debate over potential environmental of the marine and other natural resources in the Non-Self-
hazards from DSM. Environmental groups, ocean researchers, Governing Territories under their administration … does not
indigenous peoples organisations, churches and a growing adversely affect the interests of the peoples of those Territo-
number of governments are concerned that the ocean floor ries.”
will become a new frontier for uncontested, risky technolo- Moetai Brotherson is a member of the Tavini Huiraatira
gies. party, who represents French Polynesia, serves in the French
A resolution calling for a DSM ban was adopted at the Sep- National Assembly in Paris. His homeland has an EEZ of nearly
tember 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille. 5 million square kilometres, and ocean-floor resources that
While 81 governments and government agencies supported could potentially be a valuable resource in future decades.
the ban, 18 voted against, and 28 abstained. As Islands Busi- “There are many studies that show that most of the miner-
ness reported in February, host nation France refused to als in the French maritime area are in French Polynesia or
support the resolution – no small issue in our region, given the Wallis and Futuna,” Brotherson said. “So tomorrow, it is very,
French state claims control of more than 5,000,000 km² of very, very likely that France is going to come to our shores to
EEZ around Clipperton atoll and its three Pacific dependen- exploit those minerals despite the known limitations of the
cies. technologies that we have today. This is why we want to re-
In the Pacific, a number of companies have already pro- gain our sovereignty, to be able to decide not to do this folly.”
posed ocean mining projects, although all have foundered Despite a 2004 autonomy statute giving powers over
from a mix of economic, legal and political reasons. maritime resources to Papeete, France’s highest constitu-
In 2019, the Nautilus Minerals corporation abandoned a tional court has ruled that strategic metals come under the
long, contested effort to mine seabed minerals beneath PNG’s control of the French State rather than the Government of
Bismarck Sea, under licence from the PNG government. Last French Polynesia. Brotherson noted: “Our so-called statute
September, the NZ Supreme Court rejected an appeal by of autonomy says we are in control of our deep sea minerals,
Trans-Tasman Resources, seeking to overturn a decision that with the notable exception of all strategic metals. But this list
stopped its iron sand ocean mining project off South Taranaki. of strategic materials [sic] is being defined by Paris and Paris
This month, Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe told Radio only.”
Australia that the government had withdrawn its sponsorship Echoing the history of ecological devastation caused by ter-
for Circular Metals Tuvalu to bid for DSM approval through the restrial mining in Nauru and Banaba, Brotherson spoke of the
ISA. impact of past phosphate mining on Makatea. He also recalled
In its new statement, PPADSM supports “the growing the use of the Pacific as a laboratory for unproven technolo-
international call for a moratorium on DSM in line with the gies during the era of nuclear testing, when France conducted
UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development to 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls.
scientifically assess whether DSM can be done in a way that “With those tests, France has gained a seat at the United
avoids harm to ocean ecosystems, recognising the intercon- Nations in the P5 club as a nuclear power,” he said. “On our
nectedness of these ecosystems beyond national jurisdic- side, we are already facing many people dead from nuclear-
tions.” induced diseases and many, many getting sick every year.
Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum welcomed From the environment perspective, the legacy may be even
the new parliamentary initiative, tweeting: “Fiji has banned more daunting.”
deep seabed mining in this decade because we believe we For Brotherson, the nuclear era should provide important
cannot destroy what we do not understand –– grateful to see lessons as island nations debate the future of DSM: “The
momentum building for this commitment up and down the argument was that, due to the nuclear tests, there has been
Great Blue Wall of the Pacific.” economic development. Sure, but who benefited from this
economic development and who’s facing the dire consequenc-
Regulating colonial powers es of these tests? If we don’t do anything, the same schema is
A number of parliamentarians endorsing the new alli- going to repeat itself at the level of deep sea mining.”
ance come from provincial administrations and the US and
French dependencies across the Pacific, including Senator “A Call To Protect Our Pacific Ocean” can be found at:
Sabina Flores Perez of Guam; the Speaker of New Caledonia’s https://www.pacificblueline.org/pacificparliamentarians
Congress Rock Wamytan; Minister for Primary Industries in the
Autonomous Bougainville Government Geraldine Yolanda Paul nicmaclellan@optusnet.com.au
and Maohi politician Moetai Brotherson.

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