Protest march organised for UNOC3 as world leaders and marine interests gather in Nice
As the world gathers for the third UN Ocean Conference, those worried about the potential impacts of deep sea mining step up the pressure on world leaders to stop it.
A march against deep sea mining and other marine ‘threats’ has been planned for next Saturday in Nice, France ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference, UNOC3.
The March is organised by a Brussels based association of European environmentalists called Seas at Risk, which has 30 member organisations and focusses on marine protection in Europe.
Deep sea demands
Alongside an invitation to march, Seas at Risk today published 9 demands for world leaders set to attend UNOC3.
One of the demands speaks directly to deep sea mining, which has become more imminent with US president Donald Tump's recent executive order allowing US agencies to issue licences for the activity, both in US waters and in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Environmentalist group, GreenPeace, has already expressed disappointment at the Political Declaration set to be voted on at the conference, accusing the secretariat of 'pathetically weak' language which fails to address deep sea mining directly, among other threats.
As Seas at Risk invites the public and its members to meet at Plage Lenval on the Nice Promenade in France next Saturday, the organisation has demanded that world leaders 'adopt a legally binding moratorium on deep-sea mining in both territorial and international waters'.
Shifting the burden of proof
The marine protectionists insist that governments shift the paradigm, so ocean protection is treated as default rather than something to make the case for.
They want the burden of proof to be on deep sea miners and other commercial users of the oceans to prove their activities will do no harm, rather than require ocean defenders to prove damage.
It's time to reverse the current paradigm from exploitation to protection.
Blue March 2025
The activist event, dubbed Blue March 2025, will begin at Plage Lenval at 5pm, take a straight route along the Promenade Des Anglais, and end 30 minutes away at Plage du Centenaire, itself a 30 minute walk away from the conference venue.
Can BBNJ and the ISA coexist?
In addition to the march, member organisations of Seas at Risk will host side events at the conference including a talk by the University of Gothenburg on potential conflicts between the BBNJ agreement and the International Seabed Authority, ISA.
Environmentalists want the ISA to stop the slow march towards deep sea mining and shift the focus to marine science and protection, which BBNJ aims to address.
BBNJ is an agreement adopted in 2023 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and addresses marine biological diversity in the high seas.
It has not yet been ratified by enough countries to be enforced, but environmentalists are enthused by the prospect of marine protection it promises to provide and most think there is a conflict with deep sea mining.
The advertisement for the conference side talk asks 'is it possible to safeguard BBNJ while starting a new, invasive and risky industry in the same areas declared as “protected”?'
So far, 115 have signed the agreement but less than the required 60 have ratified.
The ISA will meet a month after the Ocean Conference to continue work on the Mining Code which would allow an international regulatory framework for deep sea mining to begin.
Already, two deep sea mining companies - The Metals Company and Impossible Metals - have bypassed the ISA and applied for licences through the American system jump-started by Trump.
Conservationists see the developments as an urgent threat and are calling on world leaders to take the precautionary approach.
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, itself an international group of 130 NGOs, has asked the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutteres, to back a deep sea mining moratorium, which 33 countries have so far signed.
WWF International, today, also called on world leaders at the conference "to agree to a pause on deep sea mining until the science is in place and the effective protection of the marine environment can be guaranteed".
Let’s be honest: Leaders are failing the ocean. And time is running out. ⏳
— Seas At Risk (@SeasAtRisk) May 20, 2025
🌊The ocean needs bold action – now – and #UNOC3 is the world’s chance to deliver.
Join us in Nice at the #BlueMarch2025 and demand true blue action. https://t.co/ovwZOUb1Nz pic.twitter.com/qAO6r9CiMS
UNOC3
UNOC3 will be hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice between 9-13 June. It will be attended by world leaders, NGOS, scientists, and other marine interests.
The conference says it aims to foster urgent and expanded action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean as part of advancing UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.
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Diane Desierto
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