NEW YORK, Sept 23 (IPS) – This week’s UN General Assembly meeting marks nearly 20 years since the agency voted to limit bottom trawling on seamounts, which rise thousands of feet from the ocean floor and form some of the most biologically rich marine ecosystems on Earth.
Led by Palau and other small island nations with deep connections to the ocean for generations, the decades since have seen a series of follow-on agreements extending protections to the deep sea – the dark, cold waters below 200 metres – and last year a treaty was adopted to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
These are important achievements to celebrate, but we have been involved in diplomacy long enough to know that such agreements are often just the beginning of a long and winding journey toward full implementation.
For example, bottom trawling continues today on seamounts and is taking place in increasingly deeper waters, despite scientific evidence that it is causing serious damage to corals and other habitats. In fact, the UN’s most recent World Ocean Assessment found that “fishing, particularly bottom trawling, is the single greatest current threat to seamount ecosystems.”
A similar story is unfolding elsewhere in the deep ocean. Until recently, the immense pressure and near-total darkness of the middle layer of the ocean, sometimes called the “twilight zone” (200–1,000 m deep), were thought to be inhospitable to life.
But technological advances such as submarines and remotely operated vehicles now provide a window into the world where deep-sea fish, squid, and shrimp live. This oceanic realm is estimated to contain up to 95 percent of all marine fish by weight and up to 10 million species, a biodiversity comparable to that of a tropical rainforest.
We also now know that the deep sea environment It is critical to the health of the ocean’s broader food chain, including fish stocks on which millions of people around the world depend for food and jobs.
Moreover, recent studies have shown that the vast biomass of the mid-ocean plays a vital role in the climate system by preventing huge amounts of heat-trapping gases from entering the atmosphere through a process known as the carbon pump.
But as global fish stocks continue to suffer from overfishing, pollution and rapidly rising ocean temperatures, countries are exploring ways to allow deep-sea exploitation to meet the ever-increasing demand for fish products used in fertilizers, aquaculture and health supplements.
The dangers of over-mining don’t end at 1,000 meters. Mining companies have long sought to expand their reach from land to the deep sea. For example, the International Seabed Authority, a UN agency that regulates deep-sea mining, is currently working on finalizing rules to govern commercial operations on the seabed.
The regime already authorizes exploratory mining voyages in the vast Clarion-Clipperton basin of the Pacific Ocean, where ships will dredge the seabed 4,000 to 5,000 meters below the surface to extract nickel, manganese, copper and cobalt nuggets that would never be profitable without government subsidies.
As elsewhere, this activity could cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem, potentially releasing carbon that has been safely stored for thousands of years. If approved, full-scale mining could begin within a few years.
Surprisingly (and not without irony), a study funded in part by corporate mining profits recently found that there is “dark oxygen” in the same area of the ocean floor. It has long been known that oxygen is produced by living organisms in the presence of light through the process of photosynthesis.
But a study published this summer suggests that the electrochemical properties of the aforementioned nodules can produce oxygen even in complete darkness. The discovery could have far-reaching implications for our understanding of the origins of life and for demonstrating the high risks associated with mining.
As we have begun to unravel the mysteries of the deep sea over the past two decades, the wisdom behind the international community’s commitment to protect the deep sea has become clearer than ever. Our most important task today is to fully implement this commitment before it is too late.
Suranzel S. Whips Jr. He is the President of Palau. Helen Clark He is a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal Source: Inter Press Service
