Caleb
Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist
Deep
sea mining companies in the Cook Islands are being accused
of using charity to change public perception. However, one
mining company disagrees, saying that it is no different
from other businesses sponsoring events.
Te Ipukarea
Society president June Hosking said the companies “have
basically infiltrated every part of society”.
Deep sea
mining in the Cook Islands has not started yet, and mining
companies are in the fourth year of exploration.
As
the exploration has continued, public
opinion has heated up, with a protest
last year when the Underwater Minerals Conference was
being hosted in Rarotonga.
One of the companies, CIC
Ocean Research, has set up the Te Rito o Taku Peu Tupuna –
translated to mean, “the richness of culture” – to support
various community projects in the country.
The company
has sponsored several community initiatives, including
annual week-long cultural festival Te Maeva
Nui.
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Hosking said that staunch anti-deep sea mining
community members have been swayed by the company.
“I
have actually been told that these guys are great. We are
finally getting support for our culture and they are
actually helping our culture. People are completely sucked
in by it.
“It is clever and it is obviously been
planned for quite some time.”
But CIC country manager
Shona Lynch said it is “no different” to other private
companies like Vodafone Cook Islands supporting various
projects.
“If you do not do anything, you get accused,
and if you do something, you still get accused,” Lynch
said.
“We have people knocking at our door every day
seeking support and one of the things that CIC as a company
has promised was that we will help where we can.
“To
say that we are trying to influence our people no, I don’t
think that’s a fair statement, at least from CICs point of
view. Remember we’re Cook Islanders too, we’re part of
society and if there’s an area that people will come and ask
for help we will try come to help.”
CIC also helped
with publication support for two books written by cultural
leader Michael Tavioni.
Tavioni said people have
accused him of being bribed, but he is not being influenced
by anybody.
“I would love to be bribed. I need money
to make my wānanga bigger, my gallery bigger, and my
workshop for kids so I can teach my culture.”
Tavioni,
who sometimes contributes to the local newspaper, said that
when he writes on deep sea mining benefits, he is just
contributing to the discussion.
Research is never
going to stop
Lynch said that over the past three
years, the data collected will feed into the environmental
report at the end of the five-year exploration
phase.
The companies are trying to find out if nodules
can be removed without causing serious environmental harm –
the measure they need to satisfy to be allowed to
mine.
“I don’t think research is ever going to stop,”
Lynch said.
She said it’s too early and up to the
government if mining will take place at the end of the
exploration phase.
Lynch said she would have a better
idea of if an extension is needed once the five years is
up.
“There’s a lot of moving parts, there’s a lot of
information that still needs to be collected.”
Deep
sea minerals talanoa
Meanwhile, Pacific leaders met
last month in Suva for the talanoa on deep sea
minerals.
The region has differing views on the
practice with several countries including Palau, Fiji, and
Vanuatu calling for a precautionary pause, while others like
the Cook Islands and Nauru are at least exploring the
idea.
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition’s Phil McCabe
said that the regional talanoa was a good move.
“It
was framed as an open and inclusive dialogue, which is great
because the issue has been a really hot topic and something
that is been quite divisive in the region. It is really a
positive step that the region came together to start
discussing this issue.”
However, he said there was
expectation from civil society that they would be included
in the talanoa, which was not the case.
The summary of
discussions said, “The Talanoa agreed on the importance of
balancing environmental, economic and sociocultural
issues”.
McCabe said under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, which all Pacific
countries are party to, they are obligated to protect the
marine environment.
“It is not legal to intentionally
and knowingly damage the marine environment. There is no
reference in law to balancing economic wants, needs,
desires, with the obligation to protect the
environment.”
RNZ Pacific reached out to Cook Islands
Seabed Minerals Authority, the government agency tasked with
the regulation of seabed minerals activity, but was told “in
light of recent media attention” it would not make a comment
to international
media.
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