Our ocean binds the islands of the Pacific into one people with a shared culture. As Indigenous Pacific Islanders, we have ancestral stories that tie us to the depths of the ocean that are both far beyond our shores and deep below the surface. As colonization has made its way throughout the Pacific, they work towards dividing us by keeping us separate from one another. Our work of these times is to weave us back together to help be the voice of our ocean. We must share our ancestral stories, like the Kanaka Māoli creation story, the Kumulipo, to remind ourselves of how connected we are with one another and the deep ocean. This strength is what will propel us further in the international arena where we can protect the marine environment for generations to come.

The complexities of running an awareness campaign on the potential impacts of deep seabed mining in a small island, large ocean state are considerable.  As usual, there are two sides to the debate, but the people invoved on each side are all from the same tight, close knit community. This community cohesion is being influenced by foreign interests with deep pockets, swaying extra support for the industry, but yet shying away from shining the spotlight on the potential environmental risks invovled.  With the Cook Islands cruising into its 4th year of a 5 year exploration phase, the people are still in the dark when it comes to environmental and biological data gathered from the proposed deep sea mining sites. Based on the lack of environmental data shared, how can we be sure consent given from the people is really informed consent. This presentation takes a deeper look into these issues, and touches on responses from Civil Society to the pressure from Government and industry. It leaves us with the question of “Where to from here?”

While deep seabed mining (DSM) commercial activities are yet to begin, the economic promises of the sector have already triggered a scramble for the ‘new frontier of mining’, with interests notably driven by the green transition – the deep sea is rich in the minerals needed for electric cars and wind turbines. But DSM spurs multi-scalar controversies, especially in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) where governments and communities are pondering whether to embark on the new venture and if so, under what terms. In this presentation, we discuss how the climate crisis is feeding into these debates on DSM in the PICs.

Policymakers around the globe are under increasing pressure to make decisions about the extent to which, and under what conditions, seabed mining should be allowed. From an economic perspective, this involves comparing the costs of seabed mining against the benefits. Making this comparison, however, is severely complicated by the fact that we have little knowledge of the economic costs or benefits associated with deep sea ecosystems (or seabed mining for that matter) and robust evidence on the economic value of protecting these ecosystems remains extremely scarce. Of the evidence that does exist, there is little consensus on whether  seabed mining is likely to yield a net benefit or net cost for host communities. This presentation begins by explaining how an economist would typically approach policy questions around natural resource use, before providing a summary of existing evidence on the costs and benefits of seabed mining. The presentation concludes by making suggestions for future research.

Across the globe, nations are actively pursuing the exploration and extraction of deep-sea mineral resources. If harvested, these minerals can be used to make renewable energy infrastructure, such as turbines, cars and other electronic devices. At the same time, the deep sea is the last untouched ecosystem on our planet, about which we still know very little. So there are arguments for and against deep-seabed mining exploration and full-scale, commercial seabed mining. Claims have been made by the Cook Islands government that Cook Islands communities support seabed mining exploration and mining, however there is not any reliable and accessible data available to back these. To understand where Cook Islands residents stand on the issue, Te Puna Vai Mārama conducted an opinion poll from September 6 to 15, 2024. The poll asked residents of the Cook Islands about their knowledge and support for deep-seabed mining exploration and deep-seabed industrial scale mining in the Cook Islands. The poll results showed a significant majority of respondents did not support deep-seabed mining.

Scientific based decision making is rooted in comprehensive and quality information and its derived knowledge. In the Cook Islands all environmental information becomes publicly available as required by law. Despite severe financial constraints the Cook Islands government supports the collection and involvement of its own scientists in the collection of this information, it also encourages collaboration with other researchers internationally. One recent example of this is the WISE 2024 expedition which looked at dual purposes, firstly capacity building of young, predominantly female scientists from the region (supported by experts from around the world) and secondly collection of new information from our immediate region and associated discovery. To keep costs and scope within capacity, the expedition leveraged off attendance at the recent Underwater Minerals Conference. Significant new knowledge is already emerging in the biological, geological and oceanographic areas, with data processing expected to learn even more.

Views diverge as to how the Cook Islands might use its extensive deep sea mineral resources to deliver economic and social benefits. The quality of the resource translates into potentially high economic returns, and some expect there will be major benefits for the Cook Islands’ economy. But economic mineral processing has not been estimated or demonstrated. Moreover, a recent synthesis of relevant research concluded that deep sea mining may generate only short-term profits for private mining companies. This divergence in economic expectations is generally ignored, with attention focussed on equally divergent views regarding the potential impacts of seabed mining on the marine environment. Can such contrasting expectations and viewpoints be reconciled? Probably not, directly. However, there is an alternative solution – to recognise the “non-use value” of the resource, as demonstrated successfully for the protection of tropical rain forests and living marine ocean resources, for example. Leveraging upfront philanthropy to catalyse investments can create long-term sustainable income streams that replace the potential income foregone by leaving the resource in situ. Research has confirmed the practicality of this approach to resolving widely divergent views on resource use, without compromising the economic and social benefits due to the resource owners.

Deep-seafloor organisms consume oxygen, which can be measured by in-situ benthic chamber experiments. In this talk I will present such experiments from polymetallic nodule habitats in the abyssal Pacific, and non-nodule abyssal habitats in the central Atlantic Ocean that used the same experimental hardware that show contrasting seafloor ecosystem responses. While the mechanism for these differences is still largely under investigation, I will provide several possible mechanisms that potentially drive the differences, and the arguments that we used to check for experimental errors.

The deep sea is a complex and poorly understood environment and deep-sea mining (DSM) an unprecedented industry, thus potential impacts are characterised by a high level of uncertainty. The scientific consensus suggests that these would be severe, long term and potentially irreversible in human time frames. Industry proponents assert that Adaptive Management aided by Digital Twin artificial intelligence technologies will provide an effective and transparent approach to the environmental management of DSM.  However, digital twin technology and the application of Adaptive Management to DSM is in its infancy.  The time frames required for closing the significant gaps in deep sea knowledge and technological capacities does not align with the timeframes in which companies aspire to begin commercial seabed mining. This presentation will provide an overview of what is known and what remains unknown about the impacts of deep sea mining and the limitations of Adaptive Management and Digital Twin technology in protecting the common heritage of humankind – our deep sea.

Deep-sea mining is caught in a timewarp between the Law of the Sea Convention negotiated in the 1970s and the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity. On the one hand the International Seabed Authority is negotiating exploitation regulations and is facing the prospect of an application being made for commercial deep-sea mining early next year. On the other hand 32 countries support a precautionary pause or a moratorium on deep-sea mining, and a general policy on the protection of the marine environment has been proposed. This presentation will provide an update on the latest developments, best practice and emerging trends in the deep sea and suggest some ways forward.

The new, high-risk, experimental extractive industry of deep seabed mining (DSM) is proposed to commence in an era of interlinked planetary crises. What is different about this new extractive industry is that the rules and regulations required to govern it and ensure that it causes no further harm to marine life are being developed by an intergovernmental regulatory body, the International Seabed Authority. Amid growing contention over the wisdom of proceeding with plans to mine the deep seabed, and contestation of the dominant argument that the metals from the deep seabed are required for a green transition.  A third difference is that, despite the risks, a handful of Oceanic states in the Pacific are the most invested in this potential new industry, hoping that the partnerships they have formed with mining companies will bring them prosperity and positive economic development outcomes.  This presentation will unpack these and other less discussed issues on DSM that should concern us. 

The Cook Islands for the last several decades has transitioned into a more Westernized way of life, a trend that is also evident in other Pacific Island countries. Consequently, this shift has resulted in the loss of language and culture and led to a heavy reliance on processed and imported goods. As a result, we have also seen an increase in non-communicable disease and a host of social ills in the community, including the outward migration of indigenous Cook Islanders overseas. Here, I examine the potential impact of DSM on the community from an indigenous lens.