Extracting minerals from sea-floor vents should not go ahead without a coherent conservation framework, argues Cindy Lee Van Dover.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Impact of remotely generated eddies on plume dispersion at abyssal mining sites in the Pacific
Scientific Reports Open Access 05 December 2017
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
S. BEAULIEU; K. JOYCE; S. A. SOULE; WHOI (2010)
References
Spiess, F. N. et al. Science 207, 1421–1433 (1980).
Jankowski, P. Independent Technical Assessment of Sea Floor Massive Sulphide Exploration Tenements in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga (SRK Consulting, 2007); available at http://go.nature.com/zffswv
Coffey Natural Systems Environmental Impact Statement: Solwara 1 Project (Nautilus Minerals, 2008); available at http://go.nature.com/tpkymm
Gjerde, K. M. et al. Regulatory and Governance Gaps in the International Regime for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Marine Series I (IUCN/Natural Resources, 2008).
Gleason, M. et al. Ocean Coast. Mgmt 53, 52–68 (2010).
Van Dover, C. L. et al. Environmental Management of Deep-Sea Chemosynthetic Ecosystems: Justification of and Considerations for a Spatially Based Approach. ISA Technical Study No. 8 (International Seabed Authority, 2011).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares competing financial interests in the form of research support from Nautilus Minerals.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Van Dover, C. Tighten regulations on deep-sea mining. Nature 470, 31–33 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/470031a
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/470031a
This article is cited by
-
Clams after storms: the impact of multiple disturbances on seep vesicomyid clams revealed by long-term monitoring
Marine Biology (2019)
-
Impact of remotely generated eddies on plume dispersion at abyssal mining sites in the Pacific
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
Stable isotope analysis in deep-sea chondrichthyans: recent challenges, ecological insights, and future directions
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2017)
Dominic Papineau
Dear Reader,
Faustian pact sounds like a quite appropriate expression in this case… The author might disagree, but a deeper consideration of predictable associated environmental problems and the economic fairness of such activity is certainly warranted before immediate research benefits can be subsidized. This is actually the source of one of the main problems of humanity today: the unscrupulous distribution of profits generated from the exploitation of natural resources in capitalistic countries have led to un-restituted environmental disasters, diseases and poverty to the uneducated, rampant government corruption, and social injustices that have escalated into conflicts, wars, and terrorism. Why would a private company be allowed to make profit from resources in international waters? This is unacceptable! The relentless exploitation of natural resources by irresponsible private sector companies has created countless problems that are too often left to local governments to handle. It is the people who pay the price for this shameless exploitation.
Acid mine drainage has been a profound environmental problem in exploited volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and other types of ancient seafloor vent systems. Should we wait and see what will happen to bottom waters and deep-sea vent ecosystems when this sulfide gets mined and oxidized by bottom waters? Who will monitor this pollution, and pay for it? It is obvious that the largest portion of profits generated by such activities should not serve to enrich those who have enough resources to gamble on buying shares of these companies, but to remediate to the environmental pollution. I certainly recognize the need to exploit such natural resources, but the consequences on the environment are inevitable (landscape and habitat destruction, acidification and heavy metal poisoning of deep waters, etc.). Who will pay for this destruction after the company has made its profit and disappeared (through assimilation by increasingly gargantuan multinational mining companies…)? The nearest inhabitants of course! Will they get adequately compensated by the International Seabed Authority? I wouldn’t bet on that… Especially not in under-developed countries like Papua New Guinea…
What is even worst for the Earth science community is that these mining companies are not accountable to make their data and drill cores available (it is usually a discretionary decision by the company’s administration). Natural resources belong to the people who live on that land. No one lives on the seafloor, like no one permanently lives in Antarctica or on the Moon. For the sake of the poorly-known deep-sea ecosystems, our health, future generations, and social justice; all such mineral exploitation in international waters should be strictly prohibited by an international treaty similar to the ones that protect Antarctica and the Moon.
Sincerely,
Dominic Papineau
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College