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Europe and politics : Deep sea mining and small Island states : The…
Europe and politics : Deep sea mining and small Island states : The example of Nauru
Definition
Deep sea
scientifically : around 2,000m deep / 56% of the oceans
geopolitics : what is bellow 200 meters
mining means extracting metals and minerals from the seafloor
deep sea mining : the retrieval of minerals and deposits from the ocean floor found at depths of 200 meters or greater
what do they want to extract?
massive sulfides (cooper zinc, gold , lead, silver)
Manganese nodules (manganese, iron, copper, nickel and cobalt)
Colbat-rich ferromanganese crusts (manganese, iron, nickel and platinum and rare earth elements)
why?
moove to greener energies
copper
use 24.5million tones in 2019 (17.8 2009)
renewable energy plants
elecrtic vehicles
manganese
lithium-ion batteries
alkaline batteries
Nickel
resistant to corrosion and oxidation
electric vehicles batteries
Cobalt
batteries
solar and wind plants
congo : controversial, use children to dig
Where
middle of the pacific ocean (small islands statesjamaica, cook islands...)
UNCLOS : The united Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Defines the rightand responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans
1982 = agreement after third UN conference on the law of the sea
ratified in 1994
seas divided into four zones
territorial Waters (12 nautical miles)
Exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles)
Continental Shelf (350 nautical miles)
the High sea = common heritage of mankind and common resource to all states
166 states and the European union have ratified the convention
Created in 1994 the
International Seabed Authority (ISA)
based in Kingston, Jamaica
2001
: 15 year licenses to explore areas of the seabed for resources. Only with support of the states
2021
Nauru triggers "two-year rule" *notifiedISA that they wanted the different rules and regulations to be ready in two years
Republic of Nauru
pop 10.000
Area 21sq km
language Nauruan, english (much smaller than ile de ré!)
administrative center : Yaren
close to australia
currency : australian dollar
life expectancy 55yrs
climate change
president explained the country's choise to use deep sea mining because of climate change
Unpredictable weather (storms, droughts...)
rising sea levels (fres water contaminated by salt water, have to import...)
erosion
colonisation
1798
: British Navigator Captain John Fearn, sailing past Nauru from New Zealand to the China Seas, names it pleasant Island
1888
Nauru annexed by germany as a part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate
1900
British company discovers phosphate on the island
1919
League of Nations Grants joint mandate to Australia, Great Britain and new Zealand
1942-45
Nauru occupied by the Japanese
1947
Nauru made UN trust territory under Australian administration
1968
: Gained independence
phosphate mining
exported around 80 million square tonns of phosphate
1975
: 2nd Highest GDP per capita
1975
Nauru's phosphate Royalties Trust Values + 1 billion australian dollars
1989
Nauru took australia to the international court of justice
consequences
little land to live on
no local ressources (must import all necessities
limites finances
high level of dependency on outside agencies
attempts to diversify (other sources of income)
1990
: offshore banking, licensing around 400 foreign banks
2001
: Australian detention center (refugee wanting to get to australia)
the metals company(Gerard Barron ceo)
very close with nauru (barron Waqa and garard barron friends)
président de la République : Baron Waqa
dangers of deep sea mining: video
70% planet is ocean
mining is done is some poor countries where children are know to do dangerous work
particular interest : Clanon Clipperton Zone > lots of new species in these areas, possibility that they disapear (species that are interesting to the ecosystem and global human health (antibiotic...))