The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, is pleased to present the Annual Report 2022 under article 166(4) of the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea. The report, entitled “Ensuring the sustainable management and stewardship of the deep seabed and its resources for the benefit of humankind”, is aimed at providing the Assembly of ISA with an overview of the activities undertaken by ISA since July 2021.
In particular, the report gives an update on the status of implementation of the nine strategic directions set out in the ISA Strategic Plan for the period 2019-2023 and takes stock of progress made in advancing the mandate of ISA in relation to the regulatory framework for the development of the mineral resources of the Area; promoting and encouraging marine scientific research in the Area; protecting the marine environment from potential harmful impacts associated with deep-seabed activities in the Area; and developing the capacity of developing States Members of ISA.
“At the core of the Authority’s mandate is a collective vision of a comprehensive legal regime to achieve the sustainable use of marine mineral resources on the basis of equality between States and in such a way as to provide benefit for all humanity,” Mr. Lodge said.
“Thanks to the continued support and commitment of the Members of the Authority, meaningful progress has been made in implementing ISA’s responsibilities. Looking to the future, I am confident that the strategic framework that we have put in place over the past five years will enable us to further build on the achievements so far and deliver even more value for our Members.”
The report also highlights the contributions of ISA to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its constituent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the implementation of the different aspects of its mandate and through the voluntary commitments to support the implementation of SDG 14. It further acknowledges the strategic partnerships established by ISA to support the delivery of its programmatic activities.
Since 2020, the Annual Report of the Secretary-General under art.166(4) of UNCLOS is presented in a new format aimed at providing ISA Members and the wider community with a comprehensive overview of the scope and extent of the progress achieved in implementing the mandate of ISA over the past year. The Annual Report comprises two documents that must be read together: an official document of the Assembly (ISBA/27/A/2) and this report entitled “Ensuring the sustainable management and stewardship of the deep seabed and its resources for the benefit of humankind”, accessible at: http://bit.ly/ISA-AR-2022
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Stefanie Neno, Communications Specialist, ISA, sneno@isa.org.jm