Session Description
Mining has accumulated decades of experience in terrestrial settings that have shaped the evolution of impact assessment (IA). At the same time, deep-sea mining emerges as a complex frontier where uncertainties persist, baseline knowledge remains limited, and assessment frameworks continue to evolve. This session invites interdisciplinary contributions across environmental, social, strategic, and integrated IA for both land-based and deep-sea mining.
Submissions may include case studies, comparative analyses, syntheses, or conceptual perspectives that explore how lessons from past mining practices and IA could inform future decision-making. Particular attention is given to work addressing the integration of social and environmental considerations, the extent to which terrestrial experience can inform approaches to deep-sea mining, and whether knowledge can be transferred between the two contexts. This covers similarities and differences, as well as limits to transferability. Contributors are also encouraged to reflect on challenges reshaping IA across the mining sector under conditions of global change and expanding extractive frontiers.
The session aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, industry stakeholders, regulators, and representatives of affected communities, including Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge holders. The goal is to examine how historical experience can strengthen future IA practice, enhancing its relevance and consistency across diverse regulatory and environmental systems. It seeks to advance understanding of more context-sensitive and adaptive IA approaches for both established land-based operations and emerging deep-sea mining.
Session Summary
This session examines impact assessment in terrestrial and deep-sea mining, bringing together environmental, social, strategic, and integrated IA perspectives. It explores how lessons from past practices inform decision-making, how experience supports emerging approaches, and how knowledge transfer can strengthen IA.
Session Chair
Izhar Mithal Jiskani
The Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment (DCEA), Aalborg University
Denmark