A Norwegian Government decision to expand mining of the deep seabed in a broad swath of Arctic waters has raised concerns in the European Parliament about the plan’s potential adverse impacts on the environment and on geopolitical relations in the Arctic. Of particular concern, the target area for mining includes the Fisheries Protection Zone of Svalbard, which reportedly is fished by 45 other countries. In all, the 280,000 km^2 area contemplated for mining runs from Jan Mayen Island to the Svalbard archipelago.
The Strasbourg-based European Parliament issued a plenary resolution on 7 February urging passage of an international moratorium on deep-sea mining efforts, at least until the preparation of environmental impact studies. Such studies, according to Parliament, should use the precautionary principle (i.e., the idea that, given a range of available regulatory options, the preferred option should err on the side of greater conservation) because of the unusually delicate balance of the Arctic ecosystem. This would be particularly important with so many non-EU countries involved in the fisheries.
The area selected for mining lies beyond Norway’s 12-nautical-mile territorial line but within its 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone covering the continental shelf. Norway is a signatory to multiple international agreements concerning maritime economic activity, including The UN Law of the Sea, the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the Treaty of the High Seas, and the OSPAR Convention, dedicated to protecting the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, including Arctic waters, from adverse human activities.
Norway’s Parliament is still contemplating the mining proposal in part because Norway’s own Environment Agency says the plan needs further study to examine the still little-known impacts of seabed mineral mining on marine ecosystems. The European Parliament’s resolution, coming in conjunction with the Commission’s “Green Deal” policy package, passed with 523 votes in favor and 93 rejections and abstentions.