Page 7 - IB FEB 2019

We Say

We look forward to seeing less of a blame culture from Fiji’s their merits and an ability to compromise and work together for
parliamentarians, and more respect for good ideas regardless of the betterment of the people who put them there, the Fiji public
what side of the house they come from, debating of issues on and their communities.

Involve indigenous people in sea-bed mining

Lawyers push for free, prior and informed consent

THe Pacific is the site of a new
gold rush says an article pub-
lished by the Stanford environ-
mental Law Journal, with sea-bed
mining the new frontier.
The ‘Second Wave Due Dili-
gence’, by Guam-based lawyers
Julian Aguon and Julie Hunter,
identifies key players in the rush
to mine the deep, and the need to
ensure the Pacific’s indigenous
peoples are not left out of the
discussion about what happens
to their resources.
The International Seabed Au-
thority they noted, has issued
29 deep sea mining exploration
licences to date. Not to be out-
done, several island nations in PNG indigenous community
the Pacific have also begun direct
negotiations with mineral prospectors. Some have even gone fur- into human capital, to improve living conditions and to create a
ther, sponsoring companies’ exploration licences in their waters. better world for future generations.”
Development partners are not passive bystanders either. Au- He noted that Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea,
gon and Hunter noted that the european union for instance has Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu have conducted or are
committed 4.4 million euros to the Pacific Community’s deep sea currently undertaking promising mineral exploration projects in
mineral project which works on legislation in several jurisdictions national waters.
relating to deep-sea mining. Opportune time therefore argues Aguon and Hunter, for Pacific
In Papua New Guinea locals resource holders have had no island nations to consider the principle of free, prior and informed
say in the granting of a licence to Nautilus consent for indigenous peoples to be applied to any deep sea
Pacific’s Blue Minerals to mine precious minerals from mining projects carried out in the international seabed in the
Economy the sea-bed off the northern coastline. It’s Pacific region. They call this a “second wave of due diligence.”
the first project in the world to gain such Conglomerates and island governments need to embrace the
mining rights. lessons of past and current mining operations. Bougainville’s
Much to the relief of the people of Papua New Guinea’s north, Panguna Mine comes to mind.
misfortune has hit Nautilus. It failed to make a payment a year To defy or ignore the views and wishes of resource earners
ago on a specialised ship being built for the project, and that ship is to invite only their wrath and trouble. No mining in eeZs or
has now been sold to another company. It is difficult to see how international waters therefore should occur without consent be-
it will be able to fulfil its mining ambitions in the short term. ing granted beforehand, and full consideration of the impact on
In Tonga this month, a capacity-building workshop on deep their lands, communities and cultures.
seabed mining was run as part of a process of preparing coun- Deep sea mineral discussions therefore
tries that are members of the International Seabed Authority for Pacific peoples need to move beyond boardrooms and
the Authority’s Regulation on Deep Seabed Mining to be put must benefit technical workshops into the community,
in place in 2020. Speaking before the workshop, International coastal communities particularly. Resource
Seabed Authority Secretary-General Michael Lodge said: “For owners will work and live with the impact
the Pacific Island countries fully dependent on the ocean for their of such mammoth operations and they
survival, deep sea mineral resources have the potential to expand need to be part of the process from day zero.
their resource base, build capacity and expertise and make an All of the talk of the Blue economy needs to ensure that Pacific
essential contribution to the development of their sustainable Islanders benefit, and that the benefits of any mining are shared,
Blue economy.” and do not come at the expense of our fisheries, don’t worsen
He also said: “Pacific Island countries, more than any others, climate change, and don’t ruin an environment we still know so
understand very well that it is possible to use marine resources little about.
sustainably whilst also fulfilling their responsibilities to the
marine environment,” he said. “We need to turn natural capital Both We Say were compiled with the oversight of the editor

Islands Business, February 2019 7