Op-Ed |04 February 2026

Protecting Africa’s Ocean future and why a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining matters

The world is entering a decisive period for the future of the ocean. With the High Seas Treaty coming into force and meaningful progress being made on the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, global momentum for stronger marine governance is building. Yet, new pressures linked to the push for deep-sea mining — the extraction of minerals from seabed thousands of metres below the ocean surface — threaten to undermine these gains. To safeguard progress, global decision-making will have to keep pace with such emerging risks. In this context, Africa will host several global discussions in 2026, including those that will shape the ocean's future, with a series of opportunities for leadership starting with the African Union Summit in February to the Our Ocean

Conference in Mombasa, Kenya in June.

As two long-standing friends of the ocean who have witnessed both its fragility and its generosity, we view the ongoing discussions on deep-sea mining as a moment that calls for careful, science-based and inclusive reflection. This is especially true in a region of the world where people depend on a healthy ocean for livelihoods, culture, spirituality and climate resilience, and where more than 30 per cent of Africans, roughly 200 million people, rely on fish as their main source of animal protein.

By James Alix Michel* and Dona Bertarelli**

*James Alix Michel is the former President of Seychelles (2004–2016) and a global advocate for the blue economy, ocean conservation and climate resilience.

**Dona Bertarelli is a Swiss philanthropist, IUCN Patron of Nature and biodiversity champion, deeply committed to a healthy balance between people and nature.