Oceans cannot become ‘Wild West’, UN chief warns
The UN chief has warned that unregulated mining in the deep sea must not be allowed to continue.
“The deep sea cannot become the Wild West,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Nice, France, the BBC reported.
His words were echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who declared that “the sea is not for sale.”
The comments seem to refer to President Trump’s April decision to issue permits for mining important minerals in international waters.
China has said Trump’s deep-sea mining order violates the law.
What is the plan to protect the high seas?
There is growing interest in extracting all sorts of valuable minerals from naturally occurring metallic “nodules” on the seabed.
But marine scientists are concerned about the damage this could cause.
“The sea is not for sale. We are talking about a common good,” said French President Macron.
“Taking harmful economic actions that disrupt the deep seabed and biodiversity is madness.”
The issue is one of several on France’s agenda, which also includes overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change.
Over 2,000 scientists from around the world gathered last week to assess the health of the oceans. They recommended that governments stop deep-sea exploration and increase research on its impacts.
More than 30 countries support the position and have called for a moratorium. But President Trump has not backed down from his executive order.
A deal for our oceans
The UN Ocean Conference, which runs until June, aims to have 60 countries ratify and implement a high-seas treaty.
Two years ago, an agreement was made to designate 30% of international waters as marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030 to protect ecosystems. President Macron announced that 15 more countries had ratified the agreement, bringing the total to 47. The ban on the harmful fishing method of dragging large nets over the seabed may expand to include all of England’s marine protected areas (MPAs).
Despite many countries signing up, environmentalists like Sir David Attenborough worry that the agreement does not clearly prohibit bottom trawling in these MPAs.
Bottom trawling is one of the more destructive fishing methods that can accidentally kill larger marine species.
