The Norwegian government has given the green light to the deep-sea mineral deposits exploration on the seabed in its waters, arcticuniverse.com writes. Ecological activists have voiced concerns about the initiative.
"Both in Norway and internationally, we don't have enough knowledge about the effects of deep-sea seabed mining on life in vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. Therefore, the only responsible course of action is a moratorium on mining on the seabed until we get the necessary knowledge and can guarantee that there will be no harmful effects on the marine environment," commented Kaya Lenne Fiertoft, Head of Global Policy at WWF's No Deep-sea Mining on the Seabed initiative.
"For a long time, Norway ignored the need to reduce oil and gas production. And now it is going to turn upside down a vast territory of the untouched Arctic seabed in search of precious metals," said Jan Dushik, a leading specialist in the management of the WWF Global Arctic Program.
"The government is going against its own environmental assessment and ignoring the impact of this mining plan on the entire ocean. Strengthening environmental monitoring at the exploration stage will not help – the damage cannot be eliminated. How will Norway be able to maintain its leadership in the ocean and the Arctic after that?"
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
