Thirty–seven participating countries of the Third UN Ocean Conference, held on June 9-13 in Nice, committed themselves to impose a moratorium on the prohibition of deep-sea seabed mining.
Deep-sea areas of the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are considered the common heritage of mankind and are managed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order, paving way to the deep-sea mining of critical minerals and resources at offshore deposits, bypassing the ISA, supported by the United Nations.
ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho warned that unilateral action by the US “sets a dangerous precedent that could destabilize the entire system of global ocean governance” set by the Law of the Sea treaty in 1982.
The US hasn’t ratified the treaty and isn’t a member of the ISA, but it participates in the organization’s meetings as an observer.
The ocean floor contains not only zinc, cobalt, copper, manganese and other metals, but also rare earth elements, 20minutes.fr notes.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
