The Dangers of Deep-Sea Mining
1:00 pm US Eastern Time
With the transition to green technology, the demand for “critical” minerals is surging. In response, industry is turning to deep-sea mining, the process of extracting minerals (such as cobalt, manganese, nickel, gold, and rare earth elements) from the ocean floor.
This dangerous practice threatens to cause irreversible damage to oceans, including destruction of to fragile marine ecosystems which would require extensive periods to recover, if at all. Deep-sea mining could have devastating impacts on biodiversity, disrupting carbon cycles and compromising the ocean’s capacity to mitigate climate change.
Despite many countries calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining, and pledges from major companies such as Google and Samsung to avoid ocean-mined minerals, mining companies and certain countries are still pursuing permits from the International Seabed Authority.
Deep-sea mining is a very new industry, and much is still unknown about its full consequences. As research continues to reveal more about the risks, we are at a critical juncture where decisions made now will shape the health of our oceans for generations to come.
In this webinar, Farah Obaidullah discussed the current state of deep-sea mining and its potential environmental impacts.
Featured Speaker
Farah Obaidullah is the founder of The Ocean and Us, the Women4Oceans platform and editor of the book The Ocean and Us. She holds a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science from Imperial College in London. After four years of working as an environmental consultant undertaking due diligence audits and impact assessments for the private sector, Farah redirected her career to her passion for the ocean. For the past 20 years Farah has dedicated herself to protecting the world's oceans. She has traveled the world, observing the beauty of the ocean and witnessing some of the most egregious practices happening at sea. Among her achievements, Farah has executed campaigns to end destructive fishing, worked with affected communities, lobbied for ocean protection and been deeply involved in exposing fish crimes, including slavery and labor abuse at sea. Farah is currently campaigning for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a reckless emerging industry that will cause irreversible harm to deep-sea ecosystems, and for which the consequences in terms of disturbing locked-away carbon are unknown. Follow The Ocean Hope Expedition, a project connecting people to the ocean, celebrating the High Seas and rallying support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
This webinar was hosted by the CHE-Alaska Partnership, which is coordinated by Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). Driven by a core belief in environmental justice, ACAT empowers communities to eliminate exposure to toxics through collaborative research, shared science, education, organizing, and advocacy.
