Reverend James Bhagwan, the newly identified General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), has called for a moratorium — or at minimum a “precautionary pause” — on deep-sea mining, warning that the industry would violate Pacific peoples’ cultural and spiritual ties to the ocean. Bhagwan framed the debate as fundamentally moral, saying it goes beyond technical or economic calculations to touch on ethics, justice and stewardship.
Bhagwan made the comments in an address delivered after the exclusion of Pacific civil society from the recent Dialogue between the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the Fiji government. He warned that sidelining local voices from conversations about seabed extraction compounds concerns about transparency and the representation of those whose livelihoods and cultural identities are most at stake.
“Deep sea mining is not only a technical, scientific or economic question, it is a question of ethical leadership of ocean guardianship, justice and spiritual responsibility for Pacific peoples,” Bhagwan said. He drew a direct line between ocean protection and Pacific identity: “There is nothing sustainable about deep-sea mining when it violates our cultural and spiritual connection to the ocean. The ocean is not an empty space. It is not simply a resource. It is our common home, our provider, our ancestor, our climate regulator and part of God’s creation.”
Bhagwan warned of intergenerational harm if seabed mining proceeds. “To mine the ocean is to wound the life system that holds our peoples, our islands and our future generations together,” he said, arguing that damage to deep-ocean systems would reverberate through the coastal ecosystems and communities that depend on them.
He also sharply criticised the way some proponents of the industry describe their projects. “The PCC has consistently warned that extractive industries too often use the language of sustainability while serving profit-driven interests,” Bhagwan said, urging caution against framing extractive activity as stewardship. His concluding line—“An ocean of peace cannot be mined into existence”—encapsulated his appeal for a pause until the full spiritual, cultural and ecological consequences are understood.
Bhagwan’s intervention adds a significant faith-based voice to mounting regional unease about seabed mining. By reframing the issue as one of moral leadership and cultural survival, the PCC’s stance could heighten pressure on governments and international bodies such as the ISA to ensure broader community participation and to heed calls for moratoria or stronger protective measures. The exclusion of Pacific civil society from the ISA-Fiji dialogue, he suggested, underscores why a precautionary approach is essential.