The Secretary-General had appointed a new Advisory Panel for the ISA Endowment Fund. The appointments became effective 1 November 2014 and would extend for a period of three years. The members of the Advisory Panel are as follows:
Dr. Georgy Cherkashov (reappointed)
Deputy Director
Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean, Russian Federation
Dr. Gordon Paterson (reappointed)
Research Zoologist
Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London
H.E. Ariel Fernández
Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority and Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Argentina in Jamaica
H.E. Dong Xiaojun
Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority and Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China in Jamaica
H.E. Jean-Michel Despax
Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority and Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France in Jamaica
H.E. Tommo Monthe
Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the International Seabed Authority and to the United
Nations
Dr. Kim Juniper
Chief Scientist
Ocean Network Canada
Dr. Natsumi Kamiya
Deputy Director-General
Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)
The ISA Endowment Fund was established with an aim to promoting and encouraging the conduct of marine scientific research in the Area for the benefit of mankind as a whole, in particular by supporting the participation of qualified scientists and technical personnel from developing countries in marine scientific research programmes, including through training, technical assistance and scientific cooperation programmes. Applications for assistance from the Fund may be made by any developing country or by any other country if the purpose of the grant is to benefit scientists from developing countries. An advisory panel, appointed by the Secretary-General, evaluates applications for assistance from the Fund and makes recommendations to the Secretary-General. The panel members, who are appointed with due regard to equitable geographic representation, include permanent representatives to the Authority, representatives of educational institutions or international organizations and individuals closely associated with the work of the Authority.
As of 31 December 2014, a total of 66 scientists or Government officials have been beneficiaries of financial support from the ISA Endowment Fund. The recipients are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Egypt, Fiji, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Micronesia, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Viet Nam.