Overview

For decades, large corporations have poisoned rivers, devastated forests and displaced communities, and now they’re rushing to mine minerals from the last untouched frontier on the planet – the deep sea.

The deep-sea may be vast and unexplored, but it is incredibly important. It encompasses 95% of the ocean’s volume and is the largest and least explored of Earth’s biomes. Some scientists believe that the deep sea and its water column may be the largest carbon sink on Earth. Plus, new species are still being found there, and sometimes, entirely new ecosystems are discovered.

A UN body called the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is responsible for governing and protecting the deep seabed on behalf of humankind as a whole. In practice, the ISA Secretariat routinely prioritizes the interests of pro-mining governments and companies over the protection of our fragile ecosystems. Since 2001, the ISA has granted 30 exploration licenses for contractors to explore mineral wealth beyond national jurisdiction in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. These licenses could result in irreversible ecosystem loss.

As citizens concerned about the future of our planet, we ask you to support a moratorium on seabed mining so we can learn more about its potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems.

Visit this page for steps you can take right now to stop deep-seabed mining.