Headline: Who Owns the Resources of the Deep Sea? Discussion about Europe’s Role in Marine Policy in Brussels

We use our oceans intensively and in many different ways: some researchers estimate that half of the world’s oceans are already adversely affected by waste, pollutants, overfishing and other human interventions. It’s clear that we need to change course if we are to reconcile our steadily growing appetite for marine resources with the goal of marine protection. For this reason, the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) and the IASS, together with the MEPs Gesine Meißner and Ricardo Serrão Santos, hosted a public discussion and an expert workshop titled “Towards a European Research Agenda for Ocean Governance” on 5 May. At Portugal’s Permanent Representation in Brussels, around 100 participants from academia, EU institutions and NGOs discussed the interplay of current trends and marine protection challenges for politics, society and science. In particular, the discussion revolved around the consequences of new activities such as deep-sea mining and options for regulating them as well as the creation of a new agreement on the protection of the high seas.

At the beginning of the meeting, Gesine Meißner, President of the Intergroup Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas at the European Parliament, made the following plea: “It’s clear that the deep seas present us with huge opportunities and challenges. In future, they are set to play a central role in the mining of various raw materials. But there are inherent dangers here that we must address at an early stage at international level, not least to establish legal certainty.” Meißner claimed that more investment in research was needed in addition to an international marine policy that ensured the responsible exploitation of the oceans. The participants all agreed that the international community should establish policies and global standards before any mining of deep-sea resources goes ahead. These new activities must be thoroughly investigated in advance in order to keep environmental harm to a minimum and ensure the fair distribution of any gains.

More transparency is needed in ocean governance

IASS Executive Director Klaus Töpfer said that opposing interests and incompatible uses make the involvement of different societal groups at an early stage essential: “In the area of marine policy, too, we need more transparency and greater involvement of science and the general public. We also need to agree on universally valid basic principles, particularly where precautions against and liability for environmental harm are concerned.” The Portuguese MEP and deep-sea ecology expert Ricardo Serrão Santos stressed that we need to make the best possible use of the knowledge at our disposal. He warned, however, that research findings should be treated with caution, given the many fatal errors of judgement in the past, for example, in relation to the alleged inexhaustibility of fish stocks. “Even today, uncertainties persist in scientific knowledge, and this should not be forgotten when making decisions on new activities such as deep-sea mining,” stressed Santos.

The sustainable use of the oceans and their resources is one of the major challenges society will face in the future. Together with policymakers and society at large, researchers play an important role in developing new approaches to the sustainable use of the oceans. Sebastian Unger therefore welcomed the pledge by European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella to make ocean governance a priority during his term of office (2014–2019). The head of the Ocean Governance research area at the IASS explained that “the goal here should be a knowledge-based and sustainable approach to the oceans. Protection and sustainable use are prerequisites for a thriving maritime industry in the long term.” Together with their partners, the IASS and KDM now want to contribute to developing a research agenda that will provide scientific data in support of this transformation process.

08.05.2015