Dr Diva Amon, marine biologist, researches the habitats and animals of the deep ocean, and how human activities impact them. She has participated in expeditions around the world and is a consultant on ocean policy. She is a founding member and director of the TT NGO SpeSeas and a scientific advisor at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at University of California, Santa Barbara. This is the second part of the two-part feature, adapted from an article published on the World Economic Forum’s The Agenda on July 21 2022.
While the contentious climate talks in Egypt (COP 27, November 2022) captured headlines, another international meeting took place under the radar in Jamaica. The climate COP attracted 35,000 attendees; the meeting of the international body that regulates and controls mining activities in the high seas drew fewer than 500 delegates. Nonetheless, the outcomes of both meetings have the potential to profoundly impact our planet's future.
As a deep-sea expert, I’ve attended the annual sessions of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) since 2017, where negotiations among the 168 member nations are underway to develop regulations that would open up — for the first time — the fragile deep ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction, to extraction. Research shows that decisions made at these meetings could impact ocean health for decades or more. With 31 exploration contracts already granted to companies, the momentum has been on the side of industry seeking to use heavy machinery to harvest minerals on the ocean floor.
The battle is set to continue at several meetings this year, with the first starting in Kingston, Jamaica, in just a few weeks. On one side of this contentious clash are those who are rushing to begin exploitation; on the other side are those raising concerns about the potential severe or irreversible environmental impacts, the lack of science to guide decision-making, the unresolved equity issues, and wishing to take more time to understand the risks.
Where does TT sit in all this? Well, we are one of the 36 countries sitting on the ISA Council, which means we have decision-making powers. Further, we sit west of several contract areas that have been granted on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which could mean we may suffer from transboundary impacts if mining ever goes ahead. Despite this, we do not yet have a national position on whether deep-sea mining should or should not go ahead and when.
[caption id="attachment_1004705" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Deep-sea coral community -[/caption]
Ahead of the upcoming kickoff of the 28th Annual Session of the ISA Council (March 18-31, 2023), here are the key takeaways from the last meeting in November 2022.
Escalating country-level opposition to a rushed deep-sea mining timeline
The recent session saw more countries pushing back on the possibility of deep-sea mining starting this year. Germany, Panama, and Ecuador joined Spain, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Chile, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Samoa in championing a mo
