Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 8, 1 August 2023 — Deep-Sea Mining Exploiting our Oceans in the Name of Clean Energy [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Deep-Sea Mining Exploiting our Oceans in the Name of Clean Energy

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine The latest, and potentially most destructive existential threat to our oceans is deep-sea mining. Deep-sea mining (DSM) is the process of extracting commercially valuable mineral deposits from the oeean floor. The idea has been tossed around for the past 60 years but, ironically, the transition to elean energy and concerns about climate change have generated increased interest in acquiring mineral deposits found on the seabed: copper, niekel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, cobalt and lithium. There is an accelerating demand for these metals to produce "green" technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, batteries and smartphones. Lithium, the lightest metal in the world, is used to make the batteries for electric vehicles. Thus, in a paradoxical twist, the race to address global warming could result in the catastrophic plundering of the oeean. A case of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" with devastating, irreversible consequences. Proponents of DSM are eyeing an area in the central Paeihe Oeean called the Clarion-Clip-perton Zone (CCZ), an area of more than 1.7 million square miles located just 500 miles south of Hawai'i Island. The seabed there is 2.5 to 3.5 miles deep and its marine life exists in absolute darkness. A team of British researchers recently published a study identifying at least 5,500 species living in the CCZ - 90% of whieh were previously unknown to sci-

enee, have no names, and likely exist no where else on Earth. In the CCZ, scientists also discovered the presence of "polymetallic nodules," potato-sized rocks comprised of layers of metallic ore that build up around marine debris. The nodules contain astonishingly high levels of precious minerals. Miners would harvest these nodules from the CCZ - and in the process destroy one of the most pristine, untouched habitats on the planet. Our Moananuiākea is an interconnected ecosystem. It is impossible to conduct deep-sea mining in one area of the oeean without impacting the entire system. The egregious threat to the biodiversity and heahh of the oeean cannot be overstated. DSM involves scraping off the top layer of the oeean floor to extract the coveted nodules, killing the marine animals and species that live there. The nodules and sediment are pumped to a surface ship using a giant tube, and then the excess water and sediments are pumped back into the oeean through another tube. The resulting slurry and sediment plumes ffom the mining equipment, and release of post-extraction waste-

water containing metals and toxins, could spread 900 miles in muhiple directions, affecting all exposed marine life and, ultimately, the fisheries that feed us. In the 1980s, a simulation of seabed mining was eonducted off the coast of Peru. When the site was revisited in 2020 h showed no evidence of recovery - strongly suggesting that the damage wrought to the oeean by deep-sea mining will be permanent. Beyond the obvious ecological consequences, DSM is in direct conflict whh Indigenous world views and the spiritual connection that Indigenous Paeihe people have with the oeean. "The deep sea is closely tied to our cultural heritage, inheritance, and genealogical connections that aeknowledge this realm as our source of all creation that is intimately described and chanted in the Kumulipo," said Sol Kaho'ohalahala of Lāna'i who has spoken out against deep-sea mining on the international level. "In our mind, there is no division of the seas. The animals of the sea don't see a boundary any more than we see a boundary. We have a great oeean whieh we are related to and eome from and care for and is our home.

"In those conversations [about] mining, there is no consideration that we eome from this plaee. It's about minerals, it's about resources, it's about extraction, with no regard for culture." Deep-sea mining was fast-tracked in June 2021 when the Paeihe Island nation of Nauru notified the International Seabed Authority (ISA) that it intended to "sponsor" The Metals Company (TMC), a Canadian firm, to begin mineral extraction from the deep oeean. This triggered a legal clause forcing ISA to adopt rules for deep-sea mining 24 months ffom the date of notification (i.e., by June 2023). The ISA is the United Nations' body tasked with regulating international waters. In response, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) annual congress in September 2021, 81 governments and government agencies, along with 577 non-governmental and civil organizations voted for a moratorium on deep-sea mining and the reform of the ISA whieh has been scrutinized for its laek of transparency and apparent pro-mining bias. ISA has already granted 16 licenses to explore for minerals in the CCZ. With billions of dollars to be made by corporations and governments eager to cash in, should ISA open this Pandora's Box, closing it will be nearly impossible. In December 2021, a coalition of conservationists, Indigenous rights advocates, marine scientists and political leaders sent a letter to the Biden administration expressing serious concerns about the potential threats of deep-sea mining to Hawai'i, Guāhan (Guam) and other Paeihe Island communities and calling on the U.S. to support a moratorium by the ISA on deep-sea mining. n«" r» 1 1 r 1 11 •

Last summer, Fiji, Palau and Samoa formed an allianee to heeome the first countries to oppose DSM in international waters. Since then, another 20 countries have joined them. In March, Indigenous leaders from 34 eountries and 56 groups, led by Kaho'ohalahala and Tahitian activist Hinano Murphy, submitted a petition to the ISA calling for a DSM ban. To date, more than 750 marine scientists and policy experts ffom 44 countries, as well as 37 hnaneiall institutions and the fishing industry, have called for a DSM moratorium. In mid-July, U.S. Congressman Ed Case of Hawai'i introduced two measures calling for moratoria on DSM. The American Seabed Protection Act would plaee a moratorium on DSM activities in American waters or by American companies on the high seas. The International Seabed Protection Act will require the U.S. to oppose international and other national seabed mining efforts until the president certifies that the SEE DEEP-SEA MINING ON PAGE 12

DEEP-SEA MINING

Continued from page 11 ISA has adopted a suitable regulatory framework to guarantee protection for the ocean's unique ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. 'As many as 10 million marine species may inhabit the deep sea, a massive and interrelated biodiversity seen nearly nowhere else on the planet," Case said. "The deep oeean is one of our planet's largest and most important stores of carbon and could play a critical role in the fight against climate change. Yet...our entire marine ecosystem is now imperiled by the imminent eommencement of large-scale commercial seabed mining operations." On July 28, in a temporary win for oeean activists, it was announced that ISA's deep-sea mining negotiations

in Kingston, Jamaica, concluded without mining eompanies receiving a green light to begin mining operations. This means that a majority of countries have not yielded to pressure from the mining industry. Despite the win, an ongoing eoneem is that pro-min-ing nations are attempting to silence the growing resistance to deep-sea mining. China is opposing a proposal from Latin American, Paeihe and European governments to allow space for debate. And the ISA secretariat, frequently accused of being too close to the mining industry, restricted journalists and clamped down on peaceful protests during the meeting. "The deep-sea mining industry seriousy underestimated the importance of science and equity over a merely speculative and profit-driven venture. Cracks are appearing in what to date has been a fortress for industry interests as a result of increasing puhlie awareness and mobilization," said Greenpeace International Oceans campaigner Louisa Casson.

"The world is fighting back against deep-sea mining - there's a big fight ahead, but the fight is on." "The deep sea is our refugia and remains as our sacred plaee where creation still takes plaee to this day," Kaho'ohalahala said. "We bear the responsibility to care for these sacred places and to ensure their continuation in perpetuity. "It's important for us to participate in these discussions. There is a culture of the deep-sea. I want to be a voice of our ancestors. I want to be the one that says we eome from this plaee, this is our home, and you are now intruding upon it." ■ For more information about deep-sea mining go to: • https://oceanfdn.org/deep-seabed-mining/ • www.blueclimateinitiative.org/deep-sea-mining-moratorium • www.greenpeace.org/international/story/60629/ stop-deep-sea-mining-international-seabed-authority/

1 Epipelagic comnwclrt iooom J X i £■ Illustration: Amanda Dillon from Drazen et al. 2020