Source: Radio New Zealand

A concerned group of NGOs say deep sea mining in the Pacific is being pushed forward without regard for ethics and moral principles.

The Pacific Civil Society group has issued a statement, signed by the PNG-based Bismarck Ramu Group, the Pacific Conference of Churches and the Pacific Network on Globalisation, saying there is too much emphasis on financial benefits, and too little on the impact on the environment and people.

Cook Islands Sea Bed Mining Briefing ‘Hijacked’ By Activists

Environmentalists ‘making a big noise’ dominate public forum

Source: Ben Chapman-Smith | Cook Islands News

A seabed minerals update meeting held for the public this week was disrupted by certain individuals who "hijacked" the event, says Seabed Minerals Commissioner Paul Lynch.

The people of Collingwood Bay in Oro Province are in a real celebratory mood after the Department of Lands conceded to giving back their customary land after 20 years of court battles.

The people have reclaimed their land – a total land area of 38,350 hectares, given away by the Department of Lands in two Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) for 50 years.

With the introduced Free Health Service launched by the Government in the Alotau Accord early this year (Stephen Howes NRI, 2014) and in its inception in 2010, it is sad to see that hospitals and health centers in Papua New Guinea lack proper health facilities for treating patients. Nurses in the Eastern Highlands Province (EHP) spoke about some of the issues affecting their work on the International Nurses Day on the 12^th of May 2014.

Source: Papua New Guinea

Strip mining and vacuum mining are coming to the seafloor

The last great unexplored wilderness on Earth is about to experience industrial-scale mining that could change the face of the pristine seabed of the deep ocean for generations to come, scientists have warned.

Source: PNG Loop

Pacific Civil Society groups including churches, non-governmental organisations(NGOs), feminist and women’s groups, indigenous customary landowners and community groups have a well established and firm stance on the issue of seabed mining – stop all seabed mining activities  – for several reasons.

Source: The National

MARINE life in Madang is facing environmental risks created by major development projects in the province, says a non-government organisation.

Mas Kagin Tapani Association project co-ordinator Wenceslaus  Magun said the Ramu nickel cobalt mine deep sea tailings endangered marine life.

The tailings have already polluted the Basamuk Bay just after two years of mining operations, he said.

Source: EMTV Online

Source: PNG Mine Watch

Experimental Seabed Mining (Graphic: Greenpeace)

Itsounds futuristic, but a Canadian company has struck a deal with Papua New Guinea to mine gold and other metals from deep beneath the sea. Greenpeace campaigner Richard Page tells host Steve Curwood the project raises concerns about the impact on life in the deep ocean.

Source: OurLandOurBusiness

WHOSE LAND IS IT ANYWAY? Right now, millions of people are being thrown off their land because large corporations are being given special rights. The World Bank is driving this destructive trend with its Doing Business rankings, which force countries to compete with each other to do away with things like environmental protections, workers rights and corporation taxes. Sign on to demand the abolition of the rankings.

Follow Link to sign;http://ourlandourbusiness.org/#home