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Speaking recently at the 4th annual symposium of the African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative on Tuesday in Lagos, hosted by Sustainable Ocean Alliance, a non-governmental organisation, a former Director of the Marine Environment Management Department at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Felicia Mogo, advised that adequate environmental regulations would be needed for specific and enforceable standards to save the seabed from destruction.

She emphasised that Nigeria needed a strong grasp of the current state of its theoretical, geographical, biophysical, and historical area of interest in the sea, to provide good governance and regulatory framework for deep seabed mining.

Mogo, who is also the founder and president of the African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative, added that the marine environment and ecosystems are invaluable to the health and sustainability of the planet.

She stated that those diverse environments, including rivers, seas, oceans, ecosystems, coral reefs, mangroves, and deep-sea habitats, offer critical services, such as supporting biodiversity, regulating climate, and sustaining economies through fisheries, tourism, mineral exploration and extraction, and coastal protection.

“Technology is revolutionising deep seabed exploration, significantly enhancing our ability to manage coastal zones and protect the environment. The moratorium on mining must be sustained as there is growing support for halting deep seabed mining until robust regulations and scientific evidence are in place,” she advised.

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