Fiji, May 20 -- Pacific civil society groups have warned that proposed deep-sea mining under the International Seabed Authority (ISA) framework would shift environmental and social risks onto Pacific Island countries, while multinational corporations capture the vast majority of financial returns.

The concerns were raised at a press conference in Suva by members of the Pacific Regional Non-Government Organisations (PRNGO) Alliance, including the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Pacific Network on Globalisation(PANG), the Fiji Council of Social Services(FCOS), and Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

The alliance cited new independent research commissioned by Greenpeace International. It found Pacific Island countries could receive only arou...