The planet currently faces three major environmental crises: the climate crisis, pollution, and the biodiversity crisis. Three interconnected imbalances that could lead to the loss of millions of species—some already on the brink of extinction—and the decline of vital ecosystems for the planet's inhabitants. According to science, biodiversity is a wide spectrum of life forms that have developed in all aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, which change or are modified over time, represent a genetic diversity within and between species and ecosystems, and stem from common ancestors. However, at the July 2025 meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) continued the debate on creating regulations for seabed mining. On the other hand, the IUCN World Conservation Congress concluded on October 15th in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with the approval of a '20-year Strategic Vision and a new program for the next quadrennium'. The President of IUCN, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, stated that 'our task is not easy, but it is essential: to close the gaps between science and policy, between climate and biodiversity, between people and the planet itself'. This implies billions of microorganisms and living beings, i.e., animals and plants, many still unknown to science. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which operates under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), works to monitor the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from genetic resources. The WWF's 'Living Planet' report states that 'three species disappear every hour and in just four decades, the Earth has lost more than half of its natural wealth due to human actions'. Currently, the IUCN Red List contains 172,600 species, with over 48,600 species threatened with extinction, including 44% of reef-building corals, 41% of amphibians, 38% of trees, 38% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 26% of mammals, 26% of freshwater fish, and 11.5% of birds. Despite these figures that should give humanity and decision-makers pause, some countries and companies intend to begin exploring the ocean for the extraction of manganese nodules, rich in cobalt, copper, and nickel—minerals highly in demand by the tech industry. At recent meetings of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), numerous countries and island states have spoken out against seabed mining, specifically against the start of exploration in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a mineral-rich area in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. According to scientists, seabed mining would cause irreparable damage to biodiversity and unstoppable pollution.
