Switzerland’s Federal Council has called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in the international seabed area due to concerns about its harmful effects.
The Swiss government stated that commercial exploitation should be postponed until more scientific knowledge is obtained and the marine environment can be adequately protected.
Switzerland will present its position at the upcoming session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica in July.
Other countries including Germany, Spain, and New Zealand have also positioned themselves against deep sea mining until more details are known.
The ISA, however, has said it will start accepting applications next month from companies that want to mine the ocean’s floor.
“Switzerland is sending an important signal for the protection of the oceans and their biodiversity,” said wildlife conservation group WWF.
“We don’t need any raw materials from the deep sea. Circular economy, sustainable product design, the right to repair and efficient material cycles are the solution,” Greenpeace said after the decision.
In May, a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Current Biology outlined that more than 5,500 new species living on the seabed in the mineral-rich Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean could be affected by deep-sea mining. It was the first comprehensive study of the biodiversity in the CCZ region, which spans about 5,000 km in the area between Hawaii and Mexico.
Despite opposition from environmental groups, the CEO of The Metals Company (TMC) which has exclusive access to the Nori Clarion-Clipperton Zone polymetallic project, located 4,000 metres under the northeastern Pacific Ocean and ranked as the world’s biggest undeveloped nickel project, sees deep sea mining happening by the end of 2024.
“They talk about more science, but guess who’s doing the science? It’s companies like us,” said Gerard Barron.
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