Deep seabed mining and communities: A transdisciplinary approach to ecological risk assessment in the South Pacific.

Deep‐sea mineral extraction is a fledgling industry whose guiding principles, legislation, protocols, and regulations are still evolving. Responsible management of the industry is difficult when it is not clearly understood what biological and environmental diversity or ecosystem services may be at risk. But the industry's infancy provides an opportunity to address this challenge by stakeholder‐led development and implementation of a multidisciplinary risk assessment framework. This article aims to present the findings of a workshop held in New Zealand that hosted stakeholders from a broad range of interests and regions in the South Pacific associated with the deep‐sea mineral activity. The outputs provide stakeholder‐informed ecological risk assessment approaches for deep‐sea mining activities, identifying tools and techniques to improve the relevance of risk assessment of deep seabed mining projects to communities in the South Pacific. Discussions highlighted the importance of trust or respect among stakeholders, valuing the "life force" of the ocean, the importance of scientific data, and the complications associated with defining acceptable change. This research highlighted the need for a holistic transdisciplinary approach that connects science, management, industry, and community, an approach most likely to provide a "social license" to operate. There is also a need to revise traditional risk assessment methods to make them more relevant to stakeholders. The development of ecotoxicological tools and approaches is an example of how existing practices could be improved to better support deep‐sea mineral management. A case study is provided that highlights the current challenges within the legislative framework of New Zealand. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:664–673. © 2021 SETAC Key Points: The development of deep‐sea mining requires a considered balance between the needs of society for mineral resources, the protection of ecosystems that are poorly understood, and confidence that local communities will not bear the social costs of poor or misunderstood implementation and management.Standard ecotoxicity tests using a few species need to be adapted to develop tests that assess risks to ecosystem structure and function using species that are valued by local communities in the South Pacific, and relevant to locations of proposed deep seabed mining.A fully accessible shared database of deep‐sea knowledge including biodiversity, habitat structure, and ecosystem services should be available to all stakeholders.The new modeling method can be applied elsewhere to prepare for the adverse effects of rain following a bushfire by minimizing sediment in runoffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]