Deep Seabed Mining: WWF takes legal action against the government

• Følg søksmålet på norsk: WWF saksøker staten

In our deep ocean there is wonderful wildlife and nature that does not exist anywhere else on our planet. Now this unique nature is threatened by destructive mining.

As one of the first countries in the world, Norway has decided to open up vulnerable and unique areas in Arctic waters for exploration and extraction of minerals on the seabed. These areas are huge, comparable to the size of the UK.

The Norwegian government has received massive criticism for this decision from its own environmental authorities, national and international research communities, the EU and the rest of the world.

"Norway's decision to proceed with opening up vast areas of ocean for destructive mining, is an unprecedented management scandal. We have never before seen a Norwegian government so arrogantly ignore all scientific advice and defy the warnings of a united marine research community", says Karoline Andaur, CEO of WWF-Norway.

The decision to open up for potential deep seabed mining, is based on an strategic impact assessment by the Ministry of Energy. WWF believes that this assessment does not meet the requirements for an strategic impact assessment in accordance with section 2-2 of the Seabed Minerals Act. Thus, there is no legal basis for the decision. This has also been the conclusion of the governments own expert body, the Norwegian Environment Agency, in its response to the public consultation.

Further, WWF believes that the strategic impact assessment shows that the government does not have enough knowledge about marine environment in the deep sea to be able to assess the consequences of exploration and exploitation, either on the environment, other industries or the Norwegian economy. There are too many and too large knowledge gaps for the legal minimum standard of a strategic impact assessments to be met. This is the basis for WWF's lawsuit.

"If this decision is not challenged, we accept that politicians can break the law and manage our resources blindly", says Andaur.

WWF also believes that a new and dangerous precedence will be set for how both current and future governments can carry out impact assessments, if the decision is upheld.

"This controversial decision made by the Norwegian government, could have a major negative impact on negotiations on mining in international waters, and in the worst case, contribute to other countries opening up for mining on the seabed in their waters as well – without the necessary knowledge", says Andaur.

So far, 25 countries, including France, Paulau, the UK, Mexico and Sweden, have called for a pause, moratorium or ban on offshore mineral extraction. The EU Parliament and more than 30 industry players including Google, BMW, KLP and Storebrand are calling for a moratorium, as well as over 800 marine scientists from 44 different countries.

The European Commission also wants a ban until it is proven that deep seabed mining will not harm nature, while the EU Investment Bank has excluded seabed minerals from its investments. Recently, an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament voted for a resolution criticizing Norway's plans for deep seabed mining.

• Mining can destroy vulnerable and unique wildlife and can break up continuous habitats in the deep sea. We risk destroying huge areas of the seabed in the deep sea.
  
• The interventions will break up the seabed.
  
• Loss of species and destruction of habitats in the deep sea can lead to less food for fish and other marine life.
  
• Expected emissions of chemicals, waste products and particles from mining operations can pollute the marine environment, even far away from the operations themselves.
  
• Unprecedented negative impacts on wildlife from noise, vibration and light.
  
• Potential future important scientific discoveries, such as medicines, may be lost.
  
• Unprecedented negative consequences from changing emissions from hot chimneys to the sea. Noise pollution can extend up to 500 km out from the point. It's like from Oslo to Trondheim.
  
• The ocean is worth more than just the value of its limited resources. The long-term benefits of a rich and clean ocean outweigh any short-term gains from seabed mining.
  
• Large amounts of carbon are stored in the sediments on the seabed. Mining in these areas can have unprecedented negative consequences by releasing CO2 stored on the seabed (PDF).