Governing deep sea mining in the face of uncertainty

Structural analysis of global mineral governance system from the perspective of country

The uneven spatial distribution of mineral resources necessitates the construction of mature global mineral governance system to ensure rational allocation of mineral resources. To this end, it is essential to analyze the structure of the global mineral governance system to provide a theoretical basis for the construction. The governance actor is the crucial element in driving the governance process, and country serves as the most central actor. Therefore, clarifying the roles and statuses of different countries in the governance system will be helpful to analyze the structure of the governance system. In the context of advancing globalization, a complex cooperative relationship has been presented between countries based on international organizations. Thus, we establish a national cooperation network based on the principle of the co-existence of countries in international organizations, to quantify these relationships between countries and identify the role and status of different countries, as well as the country communities in the cooperation network, by combining the characteristics of the countries in the network with the actual performance in the organizations. The research findings are as follow: (1) The UK, Germany, France, Sweden, and Canada play pivotal roles in promoting international cooperation as well as leading governance in the governance system. (2) Emerging economies are more actively engaged in these organizations and can promote international cooperation, but lack the capacity to assume leadership roles in governance. (3) The U.S. and China have a stronger ability to lead than to cooperate in the governance system. (4) Most African and South American countries, as well as some European nations, are marginalized in the governance system. (5) Countries with the same needs and similar economic and political conditions belong to the same community: The European countries and the U.S., consumer with a high level of economic and political development but low mineral resource endowment are in the first community. Canada, Australia, and certain African and South American countries, producers with high mineral resource endowments are in the second community. Most African and South American countries with lower levels of economic and political development are in the third group.

Noise from deep-sea mining may span vast ocean areas

Potential harm is understudied and largely overlooked

Deep seabed mining and communities: A transdisciplinary approach to ecological risk assessment in the South Pacific

Deep-sea mineral extraction is a fledgling industry whose guiding principles, legislation, protocols, and regulations are still evolving. Responsible management of the industry is difficult when it is not clearly understood what biological and environmental diversity or ecosystem services may be at risk. But the industry's infancy provides an opportunity to address this challenge by stakeholder-led development and implementation of a multidisciplinary risk assessment framework. This article aims to present the findings of a workshop held in New Zealand that hosted stakeholders from a broad range of interests and regions in the South Pacific associated with the deep-sea mineral activity. The outputs provide stakeholder-informed ecological risk assessment approaches for deep-sea mining activities, identifying tools and techniques to improve the relevance of risk assessment of deep seabed mining projects to communities in the South Pacific. Discussions highlighted the importance of trust or respect among stakeholders, valuing the "life force" of the ocean, the importance of scientific data, and the complications associated with defining acceptable change. This research highlighted the need for a holistic transdisciplinary approach that connects science, management, industry, and community, an approach most likely to provide a "social license" to operate. There is also a need to revise traditional risk assessment methods to make them more relevant to stakeholders. The development of ecotoxicological tools and approaches is an example of how existing practices could be improved to better support deep-sea mineral management. A case study is provided that highlights the current challenges within the legislative framework of New Zealand. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:664-673. © 2021 SETAC.

Underwater Hyperspectral Imaging (UHI): A Review of Systems and Applications for Proximal Seafloor Ecosystem Studies

Marine ecosystem monitoring requires observations of its attributes at different spatial and temporal scales that traditional sampling methods (e.g., RGB imaging, sediment cores) struggle to efficiently provide. Proximal optical sensing methods can fill this observational gap by providing observations of, and tracking changes in, the functional features of marine ecosystems non-invasively. Underwater hyperspectral imaging (UHI) employed in proximity to the seafloor has shown a further potential to monitor pigmentation in benthic and sympagic phototrophic organisms at small spatial scales (mm–cm) and for the identification of minerals and taxa through their finely resolved spectral signatures. Despite the increasing number of studies applying UHI, a review of its applications, capabilities, and challenges for seafloor ecosystem research is overdue. In this review, we first detail how the limited band availability inherent to standard underwater cameras has led to a data analysis “bottleneck” in seafloor ecosystem research, in part due to the widespread implementation of underwater imaging platforms (e.g., remotely operated vehicles, time-lapse stations, towed cameras) that can acquire large image datasets. We discuss how hyperspectral technology brings unique opportunities to address the known limitations of RGB cameras for surveying marine environments. The review concludes by comparing how different studies harness the capacities of hyperspectral imaging, the types of methods required to validate observations, and the current challenges for accurate and replicable UHI research.

Empowering blue economy: From underrated ecosystem to sustainable industry

With increasing demand for resources to achieve global food-water-energy nexus and rapid decline in land-based sources, oceans represent both solution and boost to sustainable environment and economy. In addition to fundamental part of earth's ecosystem for uncatalogued diversity of life, oceans are undervalued economy powerhouse with gross marine product value. With sustainable management of existing assets including shipping, transportation, manufacturing, fisheries, tourism and exploration of new business like marine biotechnology and renewable energy, the ocean or blue economy has potential to fulfill sustainable development goals (SDG). In spite of recognition of blue economy as a new economic frontier, investments by existing industries and emergence of new ones are limited and less known, hence require more in depth attention and scientific understanding. In the present study, authors present a systematic comparative assessment of blue economy sectors with distinct challenges and strategies to be further explored and implemented for industrial deployment. The conceptualization of integrated routes of bio(economy) by the current study can act as gateway for key stakeholders, i.e. governance, bluepreneurs (scientists and industries) to prioritize technologies for sustainable applications of marine resources.

Deep Seabed Mining: A Note on Some Potentials and Risks to the Sustainable Mineral Extraction from the Oceans

The rapidly increasing global populations and socio-economic development in the Global South have resulted in rising demand for natural resources. There are many plans for harvesting natural resources from the ocean floor, especially rare metals and minerals. However, if proper care is not taken, there is substantial potential for long-lasting and even irreversible physical and environmental impacts on the deep-sea ecosystems, including on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the literature on some potentials and risks to deep seabed mining (DSM), outlining its legal aspects and environmental impacts. It presents two case studies that describe the environmental risks related to this exploitative process. They include significant disturbance of the seabed, light and noise pollution, the creation of plumes, and negative impacts on the surface, benthic, and meso- and bathypelagic zones. The study suggests some of the issues interested companies should consider in preventing the potential physical and environmental damages DSM may cause. Sustainable mining and the use of minerals are vital in meeting various industrial demands.