Kenya and Madagascar have joined a rapidly-growing number of governments calling for a precautionary pause or moratorium on deep-sea mining, marking a significant expansion of African leadership to protect the deep ocean from a high-risk industry. The announcements follow Malawi’s call for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining in the lead up to the conference, the first African nation to support a pause, amid mounting international concern over the environmental, economic and social risks associated with mining the deep. During the conference, Vanuatu also announced a new initiative to strengthen independent deep-sea science to better understand deep-sea ecosystems and identify critical gaps in scientific knowledge
The developments add to growing global concern over the push to accelerate the destructive industry and ahead of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) meetings in July. Forty-three governments now support a precautionary pause, moratorium or ban on deep-sea mining.
David Willima, DSCC Africa Lead, welcomed the news: “The leadership shown by Malawi, Kenya and Madagascar sends a vital signal that African nations are stepping forward to defend the deep ocean and are unwilling to accept the risks of deep-sea mining.
Sofia Tsenikli, DSCC Global Campaign Director added: “The message is loud and clear. The fact that 43 countries are now calling for a pause or moratorium reflects an increasing recognition that the deep sea is too important to gamble with. This leadership must now translate into action at the International Seabed Authority, where governments have a responsibility to uphold the common heritage of humankind and establish a precautionary pause before it is too late.“
Ahead of the ISA meetings next month, the DSCC urges governments to translate this surge of support into concrete action to protect the deep ocean and safeguard the common heritage of humankind for future generations.