Source: Sputnik
Mining companies are increasingly coveting the seabed around the world in their thirst for minerals. Sputnik spoke to Duncan Currie, a political and legal adviser to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, about attempts to stop mining off the coast of New Zealand.
Last month Sputnik reported on how the International Seabed Authority (ISA) was drawing up new rules on the exploitation of the seabed by deep sea mining companies as booming demand for cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese for the production of electric batteries was encouraging firms to see the ocean as a possible source of these minerals.
The world’s oceans are divided between territorial waters — the area covered by the continental shelf and considered to be owned by the nearest country — and international waters.
The ISA is responsible for international waters but it is up to each national government to decide whether to allow their waters to be exploited for minerals.
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