ES

At this critical moment, the ocean faces a significant threat due to increasing interest in starting deep-sea mining, an activity that could have devastating consequences for our ocean and the communities that depend on it.

The seabed not only represents 95% of the volume of the ocean but is also one of the planet's largest carbon sinks and hosts unique biodiversity that we still do not fully know or understand. Deep-sea mining aims to extract minerals from ocean depths, below 200 meters, to meet the growing demand for metals such as copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium, and cobalt due to the depletion of these minerals on land. The demand for these minerals is rising for the manufacturing of phones, electric cars, batteries, etc.

In particular, the Clipperton-Clarion zone, located between Mexico and Hawaii, has attracted mining industry interest due to the high abundance of minerals, but the ecological value of this area is underestimated. Mining activity can generate sediment plumes that can affect key migratory species such as sharks, tunas, and whales, as well as the fishing industry and tourism. Additionally, there is a risk that these sediment plumes will spread, impacting the Central American region, which includes areas of high biodiversity such as the continental slope, the Mesoamerican trench, and the San Jose Canyon in Guatemala.

This July, at the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica, crucial decisions will be made about the future of deep-sea mining. To date, several Latin American countries, such as Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Brazil, have openly supported a precautionary pause or moratorium on the exploitation of mineral resources in the seabed, particularly due to the great uncertainty about the environmental impacts of the activity. However, the Guatemalan government has not yet taken a clear position on this matter.

Therefore, we ask you to join us by signing this petition to urge the Guatemalan government to take a stance in favor of the precautionary pause and join other Latin American countries in promoting the precautionary pause to protect our oceans and the rights of future generations.

With your signature, we can send a message to the Guatemalan government in favor of protecting our oceans, which are a priority for all of us. Help us defend the deepest parts of our oceans and say NO to deep-sea mining!

We ask for your help in sharing and signing this petition to end deep-sea mining and protect our ocean.

#DefendtheDeep #NoDeepSeaMining

Thank you for your support and for helping us protect our ocean for future generations!