Pacific civil society groups have accused the International Seabed Authority (ISA) of sidelining regional voices after being excluded from a preparatory ISA workshop on deep‑sea mining held in Suva from May 19 to 21. At a press conference on Tuesday, members of the Pacific Regional Non‑Government Organisations (PRNGO) Alliance warned that key decisions about the future of Pacific oceans are being shaped without meaningful participation from those most affected.
The PRNGO Alliance — made up of the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) and Greenpeace Australia Pacific — said civil society representatives were relegated to observer status or left out of formal discussions at the ISA Pacific Small Island Developing States Regional Workshop on the “Deep Seabed Sustainable Blue Growth Initiative.” The groups say the move narrows the debate to technical and regulatory readiness, excluding perspectives on livelihoods, cultural identity and ocean stewardship.
“We are here to perhaps share our concerns around the exclusion of civil society organisations in the discussions that are currently taking place,” FCOSS Executive Director Vani Catanasiga told reporters. Catanasiga pointed out that civil society in Fiji has a history of meaningful engagement in national consultative processes — including constitutional reviews and mining legislation consultations — and said it is disappointing to be sidelined at a regional forum dealing with matters that directly affect Pacific peoples.
Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, framed deep‑sea mining as more than a technical or economic question. “It is a question of ethical leadership, of ocean guardianship, justice and spiritual responsibility,” he said, stressing the ocean’s cultural and spiritual centrality to Pacific life. Bhagwan reiterated the PCC’s call for a precautionary pause or a moratorium on deep‑sea mining, saying any commercial mining of the seabed risks harming the life systems that sustain Pacific islands and future generations.
Laisa Nainoka, Oceans Campaigner at PANG, accused proponents of attempting to rebrand deep‑sea mining under the banner of “sustainable blue growth.” “Rebranding this activity of deep‑sea mining does not make it sustainable. Nor does it make it safe,” she said, arguing that scientific evidence indicates impacts would be irreversible. Nainoka warned that excluding civil society from substantive participation undermines the quality of regional decision‑making and risks marginalising community knowledge and values.
The PRNGO Alliance said it has already produced research and analysis intended to inform regional policy and cautioned that current processes risk reducing the conversation to technical compliance rather than examining whether seabed mining should proceed at all. The groups made a renewed call for formal inclusion of civil society in ISA processes and for a precautionary pause or moratorium while further independent research and genuine regional consultation take place.
This development comes as deep‑sea mining remains a contentious issue across the Pacific, dividing governments and communities over potential economic benefits and long‑term environmental, cultural and spiritual costs. The exclusion of civil society representatives from a high‑profile ISA workshop in Suva highlights the growing pressure on regional and international bodies to ensure Pacific peoples have a substantive voice in decisions about the ocean that sustains their livelihoods and identities.