The Namibian Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, the Hon. Bernhard Esau, made the following announcements relating to the Moratorium on Deep-sea Phosphate Mining in an interview with NAMPA (Namibia Press Agency) earlier this week:

• In September 2013 his Ministry had made a submission to Cabinet to place an 18-month moratorium on deep-sea phosphate mining  and that was endorsed by Cabinet. However, he has now explained to NAMPA that the “submission included an addendum which stipulated a moratorium of three years”.

• Cabinet decided that an “independent scoping study and a comprehensive EIA should be carried out by consultants during the moratorium period, who should, along with experienced scientists, receive direction from the Fisheries Ministry, in consultation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as well as the Ministry of Mines and Energy”.

• According to him “the scoping period will determine the end date of the moratorium”.

• The Norwegian-based Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Institute of Marine Research have been asked to study the impact of marine phosphate mining on the ocean environment.

• He also stressed that “environmental clearances can only be granted after adequate research had been conducted and therefore, a moratorium period is required to carry out these studies”.

The text of the NAMPA report was carried by the The Sun (Namibia) in its edition of 19 December 2013. This text reads as follows:
Three-year moratorium on seabed mining – The Sun (Namibia), 19 December 2013

A moratorium on the issuance of Environmental Impact Assessment clearance certificates on bulk seabed mining for industrial minerals as well as base and rare metals in Namibian waters will be in place for a minimum of three years. Cabinet made this decision during its 13th ordinary meeting in September this year. A media statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology this week said Cabinet approved a recommendation that a scoping study be conducted for the environmental assessment of phosphate mining along the Namibian coast before the EIA clearance certificate is issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhard Esau, announced in September that his ministry had made a submission to Cabinet to place an 18-month moratorium on deep-sea phosphate mining, and this was endorsed by Cabinet. However, when approached for comment on Monday, Esau explained to Nampa that the submission included an addendum which stipulated a moratorium of three years. “An addendum was delivered to Cabinet on August 13 2013, together with the submission of 18 months. Let us do proper scoping and EIAs to see the pros and cons of phosphate mining in Namibia,” he said. Cabinet decided that an independent scoping study and a comprehensive EIA should be carried out by consultants during the moratorium period, who should, along with experienced scientists, receive direction from the Fisheries