Julia Joppien
Deep-sea mining: An environmental solution or impending catastrophe?
Elizabeth Claire Alberts Energy Solutions Plastics & Pollution
The report, written by a group of researchers from James Cook University in Australia and the University of the South Pacific, with a main campus in Fiji, reviews 250 scientific articles, reports and industry sources. It analyzes current mining interests in the Pacific Ocean and various mining processes, and assesses the potential impacts on local ecosystems, biodiversity, fisheries, and social and economic dimensions. The report also highlights many gaps in knowledge about deep-sea habitats and species, and how very little is known or understood about the risks of deep-sea mining.
Deep-sea mining has not yet begun anywhere in the world, but many companies are already prospecting the seabed for nodules and other forms of minerals to assess their size, composition, distribution, and economic value.
Read the full piece here.
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