Deep Sea Mineral Resources The Challenge Of Environmental Sustainability

Dr. Jan H. Steffen IUCN Oceania

SPC-EU EDF10 Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) Project 1st Regional Workshop
IUCN Oceania Regional Office

IUCN in a Nutshell
> 1,000 organizations
81 States 110 government agencies > 800 NGOs

10,000 individual scientists and experts in 6 Commissions Secretariat with 1,100 staff in more than 60 countries

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The Deep Sea

Oceans cover 71% of the Earths surface 50% of the surface of the Earth covered by ocean more than 3,000 meters deep One of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet One of the least studied ecosystems
Only 0.0001% of the deep seafloor has been subject to biological investigations About 50% of animals collected from areas deeper than 3,000m are new species Gold corals (Gerardia spp.) found on seamounts live for up to 1,800 years
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Deep Sea Habitats with Mining Potential

Abyssal plains
Polymetallic nodules (nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese)

Upper flanks of guyot-type seamounts

Manganese crusts (cobalt, some vanadium, molybdenum and platinum)

Hydrothermal vents of mid-ocean ridges and back-arc spreading centers

Polymetallic sulphide deposits (copper, lead and zinc, gold and silver)

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Mining Impacts On Deep Sea Biodiversity

Dredging for nodules
Disturbance of large seabed areas Dispersal of sediment clouds

Sediment accumulation rates in the abyssal zones are low, approximately 0.5mm per thousand years

Polymetallic sulphide mining

Destruction of active and inactive hydrothermal vents and their associated communities Dispersal of toxic materials

High rate of endemism on hydrothermal vents

~ 500 species described, 90% are endemic Biomass around vents can be 5001,000 times higher than in the surrounding deep sea

Extraction of cobalt rich crusts

Destruction of benthic seamount communities and dependent fauna

High rate of endemism on seamounts

30% -50% 200 of 100,000 seamounts sampled Rocky substrates are rare habitats, occupying 4% of the sea floor
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Related Environmental Impacts

Offsite impacts due to the dispersion of toxic and particulate material in ocean currents and from sea surface discharges
Accumulative effects Eutrophication effects

Accidents involving mining gear and support vessels

Morgan et al., 1999

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Deep Sea Fisheries

Source: UBC

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Minimizing Mining Impact

International Seabed Authority PIFS-SOPAC: Madang Guidelines 1999 International Marine Minerals Society Code for Environmental Management of Marine Mining CBD-COP 8, Curitiba, 2006 Marine and coastal biological diversity: Conservation and sustainable use of deep seabed genetic resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction
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CBD Guidance on MPAs

CBD-COP 8, Curitiba 2006
Encourage the establishment of MPAs beyond national jurisdiction Devise new mechanisms/instruments to achieve effective and enforceable MPAs and networks

CBD-COP 9, Bonn 2008

Adoption of CBD criteria for identifying ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSA) in need of protection Adoption of scientific guidance for designing representative networks of MPAs

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Progress Towards 2012 MPA Targets

2012 WSSD/CBD goals An effectively managed, representative, global system of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 10% of all marine ecological regions, comprising both multiple use areas and strictly protected areas

5096 Designated MPAs worldwide (WDPA), 377 proposed Pacific Region: 2576 MPAs 0.8 % of oceans protected, 0.5 % in high seas (12.8 % terrestrial) Most MPAs are under-resourced, offering little in the way of real protection
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How long will it take ?

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How are PICS doing ?

Most PICS are currently in the process of establishing representative MPA networks Many PICS do not have the data to inform this process fully Bold decisions: Phoenix Islands Protected Area Managing Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species require use of Precautionary Principle
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GOBI
A global partnership To establish and support international scientific collaboration to assist States and relevant regional and global organisations to identify EBSAs using the best available scientific data, tools, and methods To provide guidance on how the CBDs scientific criteria can be interpreted and applied towards management, including representative networks of marine protected areas To assist in developing regional analyses with relevant organisations and stakeholders www.gobi.org
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EBSA Criteria
Uniqueness or rarity Special importance for life history of species Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, slow recovery Biological productivity Biological diversity Naturalness
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Advisory Board SCB D FAO GEF IMO IOC ISA UNEP UNDP Coordination IUCN

GOBI

Science Board AquaMaps BirdLife International Census of Marine Life CenSeam CSIRO Duke University, MGEL IOC/UNESCO MCBI OBIS TOPP UNEP-WCMC UNU-IAS Data, Research, EBSA Analyses & Metaanalyses
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EBSA ANALYSES and MAPS

To be presented at: -CBD SBSTTA 14 (2010) -CBD COP 10 (2010) -CBD COP 11 (2012)

Marine Spatial Planning Status & Needs

Geological resource mapping vs biological resource mapping
Applications/granting of exploration licenses in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, Kiribati Biological data, as well as policy, legislation, regulations required on regional and national level Lack of funding & technical / human capacity for biological data collection Integration of environmental assessment costs in license fees and fiscal frameworks

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GOODS
Biogeographic classification Assist governments in further identifying ways to safeguard marine biodiversity in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction and in support of ocean management measures, including MPAs Planning tool to assimilate multiple layers of information and extrapolation of existing data into large bioregions or provinces
assemblages of flora, fauna and the supporting environmental factors contained within distinct but dynamic spatial boundaries

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Seamount Summit Depths

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Lower Bathyal Provinces: 800-3000 m

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Abyssal Provinces: 3500-6500 m

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Marine Eco-regions of the World

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DSM - Environmental Priorities

Strategic environmental assessments of the likely impacts of deep-sea mining on the marine environment, including the potential cumulative effects in conjunction with other human activities Prepared and implemented ecosystem-based oceans management strategies, laws and regulations that:
Collected adequate baseline information on the marine environment where mining could potentially occur including the location of sensitive deep sea habitats/ecosystems Established a comprehensive network of well-managed protected areas to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, ecologically or biologically significant areas, depleted, threatened or endangered species, and representative examples of deep-sea ecosystems Adopted a precautionary approach that assumes that deep-sea mining will have adverse ecological impacts in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary
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Our Responsibility to Future Generations

Humans changed the way the world works. Now they have to change the way they think about it, too

Source: The Economist, Welcome to the Anthropocene, May 26, 2011 IUCN Oceania Regional Office

Vinaka

IUCN Oceania Regional Office

CBD - COP 8 Decision VIII/21

Curitiba, 20 - 31 March 2006 Marine and coastal biological diversity: Conservation and sustainable use of deep seabed genetic resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction The Conference of the Parties 1. Notes that deep seabed ecosystems beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, including hydrothermal vent, cold seep, seamount, coldwater coral and sponge reef ecosystems, contain genetic resources of great interest for their biodiversity value and for scientific research as well as for present and future sustainable development and commercial applications; 2. Recognizes that given the vulnerability and general lack of scientific knowledge of deep seabed biodiversity, there is an urgent need to enhance scientific research and cooperation and to provide for the conservation and sustainable use of these genetic resources in the context of the precautionary approach; 3. Concerned about the threats to genetic resources in the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction, requests Parties and urges other States, having identified activities and processes under their jurisdiction and control which may have significant adverse impacts on deep seabed ecosystems and species in these areas, as requested in paragraph 56 of decision VII/5, to take measures to urgently manage such practices in vulnerable deep seabed ecosystems with a view to the conservation and sustainable use of resources, and report on measures taken as part of the national reporting process;
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CBD - COP 8 Decision VIII/21

4. Also invites Parties, other Governments, research institutions and other relevant organizations to make available information on research activities related to deep seabed genetic resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and ensure that the results of such marine scientific research and analysis, when available, are effectively disseminated through international channels, as appropriate, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant organizations, to compile and further disseminate such information through the clearinghouse mechanism; 5. Expresses its awareness of a preliminary range of options which Parties and other States, individually or in cooperation, may utilize for the protection of deep seabed genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction, which may include: (i) the use of codes of conduct, guidelines and principles; and (ii) reduction and management of threats including through: permits and environmental impact assessments; establishment of marine protected areas; prohibition of detrimental and destructive practices in vulnerable areas; and emphasizes the need for further work in developing all of these options and other options, in particular within the framework of the United Nations; 6. Recognizes also that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea regulates activities in the marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, and urges Parties and other States to cooperate within the relevant international and/or regional organizations in order to promote the conservation, management and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including deep seabed genetic resources;
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CBD - COP 8 Decision VIII/21

7. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, and other relevant international organizations, to further analyse and explore options for preventing and mitigating the impacts of some activities to selected seabed habitats and report the findings to future meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice; 8. Notes the existence of the scientific information generated through other programmes of work including that on protected areas; 9. Emphasizes the urgent need, especially in developing countries, to build capacities relating to deep seabed biodiversity, including taxonomic capacity; to promote scientific and technical cooperation and technology transfer; and to exchange information regarding activities undertaken within the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

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