‘Momentous’ Moratorium on Deep Sea Mining Adopted at Global Biodiversity Summit
By Julia Conley
Common Dreams
September 10, 2021
“Deep seabed mining is an avoidable environmental disaster,” said one expert on global ocean policy.
A vote overwhelmingly in favor of placing a moratorium on deep sea mineral mining at a global biodiversity summit this week has put urgent pressure on the International Seabed Authority to strictly regulate the practice.
The vast majority of governments, NGOs, and civil society groups voted in favor of the moratorium at the world congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Wednesday, after several conservation groups lobbied in favor of the measure.