Pacific bishops urge caution on deep sea mining

The Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) issued a pastoral statement on deep-sea mining on August 10, signed by the conference’s president, Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of Agaña, Guam. The prelate also serves as president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania, which includes the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

In the letter, the bishops stated, “We respectfully encourage all who bear responsibility for decisions concerning deep-sea mining to proceed with wisdom, transparency, humility and genuine concern for the common good”.

For generations, they noted, humanity has extracted the mineral resources of the earth to sustain economic development, often without fully considering the long-term consequences for “our common home”.

Yet today, they pointed out, commercial deep-sea mining in the region appears increasingly imminent. They noted that large areas of the Pacific seabed, including the 33 million acres in the waters surrounding American Samoa and areas near the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, are now being considered for commercial leasing.

The bishops stressed that the resources of creation are entrusted not only to this generation, but those who will follow.

“History,” they stated, “teaches us that when science remains uncertain about the consequences of actions that may cause serious or irreversible harm, wisdom calls us to proceed with humility, prudence and prayerful discernment.”

For Pacific peoples, the bishops explained, this conviction is deeply rooted in their way of life. They expressed their hope that their generation would be remembered “not for what it extracted” from creation, but “for what it protected”.

The deep ocean remains one of the least understood ecosystems on earth and scientists “acknowledge that much about its biodiversity, its ecological relationships and its long-term resilience is still unknown”.

As a result, the bishops warned that decisions taken today could have consequences that cannot easily be reversed.

“When there exists a genuine possibility of serious or irreversible harm,” the bishops insisted, “the absence of complete scientific certainty should never become an excuse for proceeding without due care.”

Prudence, they recognised, “is not an obstacle to progress”, but “the virtue that enables authentic progress to serve both humanity and creation”.

FULL STORY

Bishops of the Pacific urge caution over deep-sea mining (By Deborah Castellano Lubov/Vatican News)