Louey, Philippa (2025) United we stand, divided we fall: The case for a Pacific Seabed Stewardship Statement. Pacific Security College, Canberra, Australia.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
A rush is underway for access to the Pacific seabed. Deep-sea ecosystems have attracted interest for their genetic resources, which science and industry are exploring for potential application in areas including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agriculture and cosmetics. The number of submarine cables across the region has grown substantially over the past decade, particularly since 2020. And perhaps most contentiously, deep-sea mining proponents have sharpened their focus on the considerable amount of minerals found in the Pacific seabed. These emerging sectors are attracting new and reenergised stakeholders to the region, each seeking access to the Pacific seabed and its resources. This brings both opportunities and challenges. Above all, it calls for responsible seabed stewardship. To effectively manage accelerating deep-sea activities, it is critical the Pacific draw together in a collective approach to seabed governance. Conversations around what regional collaboration for Pacific seabed governance could look like have been slowly growing over the past two decades. This year’s Deep-Sea Minerals Talanoa and 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting marked key milestones in securing political endorsement of a “member-led regional approach to deep-sea minerals”. This support for a regional approach to deep-sea minerals was an important step towards collective governance. Now, it’s time to puts words into action.