Campaign Against Deep-Seabed Mining

#DefendTheDeep

About the Campaign

The independent science is clear and undeniable: deep-seabed mining will disrupt and harm the deep sea’s unique biodiversity and the invaluable role it plays in ensuring the health of our ocean, climate, and planet.

For this critical reason, and many more, we are unwavering in our belief that deep-seabed mining is a short-sighted, unjustified, and unacceptable threat to the ocean and the present and future generations that depend on it.

With so much at stake, we are calling on you to stand with us and take action in support of a moratorium on deep-seabed mining. 

Explore scholarly and popular sources summarizing key research on the potential impact of deep-seabed mining: Frontiers, The Atlantic, Nature, Scientific American

 

 

Watch the video in Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), & French

Our Position

SOA, representing the largest global network of young ocean leaders, calls for a moratorium on deep-seabed mining to enable the global community to:

1. Undertake scientific research to better understand the unique deep-sea biodiversity, the seabed’s role in carbon storage and the larger climate system, the potential impacts of mining and the risks to deep-sea species and ecosystems, the potential for mitigation and recovery, and the opportunities to invest in and expand the circular economy; and


2. Ensure that decision-making processes around deep-seabed mining, such as those at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) are inclusive, transparent, accountable, adequately account for intergenerational equity, and ensure the protection of marine biodiversity and the ocean’s health.


Read the complete position letter here. 

 


 

Take Action

 

Read and sign the letter below to add your name to the global campaign for a moratorium on seabed mining.

Your signed letter will be sent to your appropriate National Ministers/Representatives, the International Seabed Authority, and the UN Secretary General.

Dear Esteemed Representative,

As young ocean leaders, we are extremely concerned by the evolving interest  in mining the deep-seabed, under the guise of fuelling the green energy revolution. We are unwavering in our belief that deep-seabed mining is an unjustified threat to the health of our ocean and the present and future generations that depend on it.  Therefore, with so much at stake, we are asking you to stand with us in calling for a moratorium on deep-seabed mining, in line with the UN Decade of Ocean Science. 

We believe that a moratorium on deep-seabed mining is necessary for two primary reasons:

1. As a global community, we need to undertake scientific research to better understand the unique deep-sea biodiversity, the seabed’s role in the larger climate system, the potential impacts of mining and the risks to deep-sea species and ecosystems, the potential for mitigation and recovery, and the opportunities to expand the circular economy; and

2. We need to ensure that any decision-making processes around deep-seabed mining, such as those taking place at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), are inclusive, transparent, accountable, and adequately account for intergenerational equity.


Though at present no commercial deep-seabed mining is taking place, the pressure is mounting for national governments and the ISA, the body that regulates mining in the international seabed, to allow widespread extraction to begin internationally.  If this is allowed, we will exploit incredibly biodiverse and fragile ecosystems that will result in severe environmental impacts that we cannot fully understand, let alone predict or mitigate. Moreover, deep-seabed mining stands in conflict with many widely accepted norms and current global commitments, such as the precautionary principle, science-based, transparent decision-making, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, the BBNJ process, the recent IPCC report, and the Blue COP.  Despite all of this, few stand to profit from deep-seabed mining, while many stand to be affected.

For all these reasons and more, we, as the generation inheriting this planet, ask you to stand with us to support a moratorium on deep-seabed mining in line with the UN Decade of Ocean Science.  We ask you to stand for science, stand for the ocean, and stand for the rights of current and future generations.

We sincerely thank you for your support and for your leadership. 

Signed,

SOA_Seabed Campaign_Final6-1

Resources

Use the following links to continue your learning about deep-seabed mining, and to help spread the word about this issue among your networks. 

 


Social Media Resources

Download the full social media toolkit with graphics and captions (download the graphics directly here)

Download six custom social graphics: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

Download a deep-seabed mining infographic

 

Learn More

International Seabed Authority (ISA) Deep–Sea Mining Negotiations Tracker

View all deep-seabed mining fact sheets (English and Spanish)

Read about the campaign

Watch Deep Sea 101 to learn more about deep-seabed mining

Key talking points about deep-sea mining

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