Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Deep Sea Mining

This open access brief is a pioneering work that is one of the first book publications to cover underwater cultural heritage and deep seabed mining. Bringing together a variety of perspectives, the work is designed to serve several purposes and educate a few different types of readers. The work introduces and offers a history on deep seabed mining, the legal context, and how it fits into the new UN Convention on Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ treaty), the International Seabed Authority (DSM governing body), and the ecological impacts of deep seabed mining.

The brief is also aimed at marine ecologists and other ocean scientists who may already be aware of the DSM and the ecological impacts, but not of the cultural heritage at risk. It introduces deep-water archaeology to them and a few case studies of heritage at risk, like in New Zealand or polluting wrecks. Finally, the book offers suggestions for steps forward and case studies of cultural heritage being included in environmental impact assessments.

By the end of the book, all parties should feel educated enough to begin championing a ban on, or more regulations for, seabed mining. One additional strength of the book is that it gives voice to those without a traditional academic background. Intangible cultural heritage has been a hotbed issue in mining regulations and many indigenous voices, especially from the Pacific, have been loudly outspoken at the ISA. While writing thousand-word academic journal articles was not in their wheelhouse, they have given permission for their speeches to be transcribed and included in the book. This will bring a new set of voices into the scientific discourse on the issue. The book is also set up to have many images to de-mystify the deep and show readers the beauty that must be protected.