Leading civil society groups in Papua New Guinea are supporting calls for SOPAC to come clean on its ties to foreign companies involved in experimental seabed mining. 

SOPAC has been exposed as advocating on behalf of US based Lockhead Martin in the drafting of controversial new experimental seabed mining laws in Fiji.

"Again, we are seeing SOPAC disenfranchising Pacific people and ignoring their voices while at the same time promoting a foreign corporate agenda", says Effrey Dademo, Program Manager with ACT NOW! 

PNG groups, like many organisations throughout the Pacific, see legislation to allow seabed mining as unnecessary and dangerous when the environmental and human impacts of the mining are still unknown, as acknowledged by the International Seabed Authority this week:

"We simply don't know the recovery times or distribution of species.." said ISA General Counsel, Michael Lodge "... there are lots of uncertainties".

Despite this, and with funding from the European Union, SOPAC is pushing for laws and regulations across the region.

"SOPAC's supposed consultation processes are a farce," says Bismarck Ramu Coordinator, John Chitoa. "There is preferential treatment being given to foreign multinational corporations and no inclusive, fair or transparent processes whatsoever".

PNG groups are calling on SOPAC to be transparent and declare all its meetings and consultations with foreign companies. In addition it needs to explain why it was advocating on behalf of Lockheed during the drafting of the Fiji laws.