Portugal is among a group of countries – presenting themselves as pioneers in ocean protection (Ocean Pioneers) – calling on other nations to stop seabed mining and the exploitation of mineral deposits on the ocean floor.
The call for more countries to adopt a moratorium or pause on this deeply-damaging form of mining – as Portugal has already done – “could play a very important role, especially at a time when the US administration is seeking to stimulate underwater mining in international waters, supporting the few companies that are interested in developing this activity,” Tiago Pitta e Cunha, executive director of the Oceano Azul Foundation, told Lusa, as the foundation held the Ocean Pioneer’s first working meeting in Lisbon this week.
“There is a strong call here to respect international law, to comply with international maritime law and for everything to be resolved and decided within the International Seabed Authority. And that was the alignment that was, so to speak, achieved here,” he explained
The International Seabed Authority is the United Nations agency that regulates underwater mining in international waters – the ocean outside areas under national jurisdiction.
The Ocean Pioneers group, made up of ministers and ambassadors, was launched at the third United Nations Ocean Conference in June last year by the French government. It held its first inaugural meeting in September this year, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The first working meeting went “exceptionally well”, said Pitta e Cunha.
The countries also discussed the High Seas Treaty (which came into force on January 17, and aims to preserve marine areas outside national jurisdiction) and its implementation, as well as the role of the ocean in the COP climate conferences (United Nations climate conferences).
“There was a third topic, which is one that means a lot to the Oceano Azul Foundation, as we have been working hard on this issue of bringing the ocean into climate decisions and deliberations. I think most people may not realise that the Paris Agreement does not consider the ocean. The ocean does not exist for the Paris Agreement, which is extraordinary. It is as if we live on a planet where there is only land and no sea,” he said.
All countries (including Portugal) that have ratified the High Seas Treaty, and that have also publicly declared their support for the moratorium or precautionary pause on seabed mining, can join Ocean Pioneers. Thirty countries so far have met these conditions.
At this week’s meeting in Lisbon, in addition to Brazil and the Marshall Islands, which participated as observers, Costa Rica, Chile, Fiji, France, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Mexico, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Tuvalu were also present.
Portugal has come 180º in this sphere over the last decade. There was one awful moment in 2016 when the then minister of the sea was understood to be actively promoting Portugal in the United States as a destination for companies focused on deep sea mining.
Source: LUSA
