Marshall Islands calls for 'precautionary approach' to deep sea mining at UNGA

The Marshall Islands has told the United Nations General Assembly it opposes any plans to mine the seabed, a stance 180 degrees opposite Nauru's, which has called to "accelerate efforts without delay" to deep sea mining.

On the opening day of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Nauru's President David Adeang advocated for deep sea mining as an economic opportunity, saying "We cannot let fear and misinformation hold us back" to "seize the opportunity...to decarbonise our planet".

But speaking on the second day of the UNGA in New York, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said that "the world's oceans are too fragile to turn into a speculative experiment".

"The world needs to ensure that the high seas seabed is not stripped of its unique biodiversity before we even document it," Heine said.

"Without a clear-eyed scientific understanding of impacts and risks - the world's oceans are too fragile to turn into a speculative experiment.

"The Marshall Islands joins the growing chorus applying a precautionary approach towards high seas mining, at least until there is adequate and meaningful agreement at the International Seabed Authority on binding environmental measures and the mining code."

The opposing views of the two leaders from the Micronesian sub-region at the UNGA underscores the divisive nature of the issue for Pacific Islands Forum member states.

While islands nations like Tuvalu, Palau and Vanuatu have been strong voices against deep sea mining, others like Nauru, Kiribati, and the Cook Islands have pushed for exploration of deep sea minerals.

Sea-level rise threat

Heine also said Marshall Islands "will not be wiped off the map, nor will we go silently to our watery graves" due to sea-level rise.

"Sea levels have risen, and we are too late to prevent them from eating away at our shores," she said.

"Sea-level rise poses a threat to long term ability to remain in our islands, and to our fundamental security as a nation and within our ocean-locked Pacific islands region.

"But for small island developing states - our stability and legal identity remains fixed, in the future, just as it is now."

She said the Marshall Islands strongly supports the declaration made by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) on sea-level rise and statehood this week.

She urged other nations to join small island states (SIDS) in support.