We all are aware that we have already over-exploited and under-valued the land based mineral wealth in our country, an irreparable loss for the future generations and the biodiversity. Now the recent approval given by the Indian government to explore deep sea mining and the Continental Shelf will lead to colossal damage to our planet. It will not only have a disastrous impact on the ocean ecosystem but would also deeply impact the lives & livelihoods of the local communities. We have enough evidences that shows the catastrophic impact of oil drilling, oil spill accidents or ship wrecks, on the ocean ecosystems and the local communities living near the coastline. None of the governments across the world have been able to protect our oceans and seas from such marine pollution.“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that within the next 80 years, the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in the summer and potentially year round – leading to rapidly increasing opportunities for maritime transportation, tourism and oil and gas exploration.” Such greed for mindless extraction has become a serious threat to the common heritage of humankind. We CANNOT let this happen as responsible citizens!

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 16th June,2021, has approved the Rs 4,077-crore (40.77 billion INR) Deep Ocean Mission that will be led by scientists at the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The mission will also invite global corporates for collaboration to exploit the country’s deep sea resources. What is concerning to all of us as citizens of this country and as custodians of our natural resources is that, there has been no public consultation or debates yet. Our consent should matter!

Since there is very limited research around deep sea and marine environment that makes it difficult to assess the potential impacts of deep sea mining, it is in the best interest of the environment and people, to immediately scrap this project to extract minerals from deep sea. India being a signatory to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must act responsibly as this project would contradict its commitment to the UN SDGs. A report (December, 2020), Ocean Solutions That Benefit People, Nature and the Economy, commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy echoes the same and points out that, “Until the need for, and potential consequences of, deep-sea mining are better understood, the concept is conceptually difficult to align with the definition of a sustainable ocean economy and raises various environmental, legal and governance challenges, as well as possible conflicts with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

We, the mineral inheritors and the guardians of our natural resources, thus demand for immediate scrapping of this ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ and a global moratorium on deep sea mining.

Please Sign this Petition as it is our collective responsibility to protect our ocean resources for our future generations.