Oceans
Deep Sea Resource Exploitation

They want to mine where?! ... An Avaaz call to action.

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Gmail Peter Burgess
They want to mine where?!
Alex Wilks - Avaaz Thu, Jul 16, 2015 at 1:38 PM

To: 'peterbnyc@gmail.com'

Massive companies are rushing to mine the fragile ocean floor. But the twenty-four people who make the rules are meeting this week, and we can stop this plunder if we back scientists’ warnings with a massive wake-up call:

Dear friends,

For years they’ve poisoned rivers, devastated forests and displaced communities, and now massive companies are rushing to dig up the seabed for precious metals.

Twenty-four people can stop this plunder of our planet’s most fragile places, and they're meeting this week!! The International Seabed Authority normally attracts as little attention as an underwater mine miles offshore, but our community can change that.

A few countries have agreed full or partial bans, and leading scientists just appealed for a freeze on deep sea mining contracts. Let’s amplify their message with a million-strong call, take out newspaper ads to hand deliver to each delegate, then publish their names and their responses. Add your voice and send widely:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/deep_sea_mining_en_dn1/?bZMFrab&v=62024

Mining companies claim they can mine the seabed safely, but authorities in Namibia, Australia and New Zealand recently blocked seabed mining projects. Scientists point out that many deep water species are being discovered all the time, and that the ocean floor can take decades to recover from disturbances such as the creation of sediment plumes from mining.

The International Seabed Authority has already issued licenses for exploratory mining across 1.2 million square kilometres of ocean floor. The body is almost unknown, and its 24-person Legal and Technical Committee does the detailed scrutiny of proposals and environmental safeguards with minimal transparency. We now have a unique opportunity to put its twenty-four members on notice with a demand that they freeze all mining until independent science proves it safe and the ISA opens up to concerned scientists and citizens.

Often, we don’t realise the value of our most precious ecosystems until they’re destroyed -- but this time we have the chance to take action before this whole new threat lets rip across our oceans. Join the call for a freeze on deep-sea mining, so we can hit a million and deliver to all delegates before their meeting ends:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/deep_sea_mining_en_dn1/?bZMFrab&v=62024

Together we’ve stood up to protect our earth’s most precious, awe inspiring ecosystems -- from the majestic trees of the Amazon to the stunning species in the Great Barrier Reef. Now, we are standing on the brink of a new gold rush that could devastate an ecosystem that has so far escaped the ravages of mankind.

With hope and determination,

Alex, Laila, Alaphia, Alison and the rest of the Avaaz team

Deep sea mining: the new resource frontier? (Al-Arabiya) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2014/11/12/Deep-sea-mining-the-new-resource-frontier-.html

Marine mining: Underwater gold rush sparks fears of ocean catastrophe (The Guardian) http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/02/underwater-gold-rush-marine-mining-fears-ocean-threat

New Interest in Seafloor Mining Revives Calls for Conservation (National Geographic) http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/12/11/new-interest-in-seafloor-mining-revives-calls-for-conservation/

Deep sea mining hopes hit by New Zealand decision (Financial Times) http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6edaeea8-b894-11e4-a2fb-00144feab7de.html#axzz3VFC8Wm1y

Scientists call for temporary halt on new deep sea mining projects (Popular Science) http://www.popsci.com/some-scientists-urge-caution-underwater-mining

Shedding some light on the International Seabed Authority (University of Southampton) http://moocs.southampton.ac.uk/oceans/2014/03/09/shedding-some-light-on-the-international-seabed-authority/

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