CNMI leader urges caution as US advances Pacific seabed mining plan

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor David Apatang is urging extreme caution as the United States moves forward with plans that could open a significant area of the Pacific seabed around the Mariana Trench to mineral development. The US Marine Minerals Administration has issued a proposed leasing notice, initiating a 60-day review period for Apatang's administration.

Apatang emphasized that protecting Pacific waters and island communities must be the top priority. His administration is demanding robust safeguards before any final leasing decisions are made. Key demands include independent, peer-reviewed environmental baseline studies, protections for commercial and subsistence fishing, development of the local workforce, investment in port infrastructure, contracting opportunities for island businesses, and a formal role for Northern Marianas officials and traditional leaders in reviewing survey plans and monitoring data.

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We must ensure that no activity, survey or otherwise, takes place without rigorous scientific baseline studies, complete transparency, and explicit protections for our marine resources.

"We must ensure that no activity, survey or otherwise, takes place without rigorous scientific baseline studies, complete transparency, and explicit protections for our marine resources," Apatang stated. This proposal emerges as seabed mining becomes a broader Pacific issue, with regional governments and environmental groups debating potential economic benefits against the risks to largely unexplored deep-sea ecosystems.

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Trump's attempt to mine the seabed of the Mariana Trench will only benefit far off corporate interests, while the people who call these islands home will be left with all the costs and none of the benefits.

Environmental advocate Angelo Villagomez, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, warned of "permanent and irreversible risks" to fragile ecosystems. He argued that the potential economic rewards could benefit distant corporate interests, while the local island populations would bear the costs and consequences of any damage. Villagomez also accused the US administration of disregarding opposition from island communities and local governments, citing approximately 60,000 public comments submitted in opposition.

The proposed lease sale covers about 69 million acres of federal seabed adjacent to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. Apatang reiterated his administration's commitment to thoroughly examining the proposal over the next 60 days to ensure the ecological integrity of the waters and the long-term well-being of the CNMI are fully safeguarded.

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Any damage that happens from mining in this area presents permanent and irreversible risks to fragile ecosystems.