Cali, Colombia – 1 November 2024 — The International Seabed Authority (ISA) showcased its action and steady commitment to marine biodiversity conservation at the sixteenth meeting of the conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which took place between 21 October and 1 November 2024.
ISA held three side events during the COP16. The first was on 24 October, delivering a statement in a side event organized by the UN-Oceans, titled “Implementing the global biodiversity framework: how UN-Oceans can support States in meeting their obligations under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) with a focus on the ocean-biodiversity-climate nexus, including development and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans,” showcasing opportunities to engage in ISA initiatives and potential synergies with other UN-Oceans members to ensure a coherent and complementary approach.
On 27 October, ISA co-organized a “Science and technology for action” segment during the Ocean Day event. The event highlighted the importance of advancing deep-sea biodiversity knowledge and its contributions to various global frameworks.
Finally, on 28 October, ISA held a side event entitled “Beyond borders, beyond depths: a coordinated approach to addressing global deep-sea biodiversity,” co-organized with Argentina, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and strategic partners, including the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea. The event spotlighted ISA’s contributions to implementing the Kunming-Montreal GBF. The initiative reflects ISA’s core mandate under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect the marine environment and advance scientific research and capacity-development efforts.
Mr. José Dallos, Director of the Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources at ISA, remarked on the achievements of ISA in marine governance, “ISA has over three decades of experience in building sustainable ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, underpinned by continued efforts to enhance and share scientific knowledge and strengthen national capacity. Such efforts are critical for the effective implementation of UNCLOS and present a valuable contribution to global frameworks such as the GBF.”
Mr. Jaeyoung Shin, Director of the Marine Ecology division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, underscored the importance of effective international cooperation “to generate, share and improve knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems in successfully protecting life therein and increasing the capacity of developing countries.”
On behalf of Ms. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the CBD, Mr. Joseph Appiott, Programme Management Officer, Marine, Coastal and Island Biodiversity of the CBD Secretariat, emphasized “the need to strengthen synergies and collaboration between ISA and CBD for our collective knowledge base to grow in a way that maximizes our comparative strengths and reflects important decisions made in our respective processes.”
Minister Rosa Delia Gómez Durán, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic, highlighted that “harnessing knowledge, innovation and capacity-development in deep-sea research will promote better stewardship of the Area as the common heritage of humankind.” In this context, she invited all Members of ISA, international organizations and other stakeholders to join the ISA’s Call for Action on advancing deep-sea science, technology and innovation, launched on the margins of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2023.
Over three decades, ISA has developed sophisticated tools and data systems for deep-sea resource governance. The recent adoption of the 2023 Agreement creates new opportunities for enhanced collaboration between ISA and CBD in pursuing global biodiversity objectives.
A primary focus of the event was to inform and engage COP16, governments and relevant stakeholders about ISA’s ongoing initiatives supporting GBF implementation. These efforts currently contribute to achieving at least eight targets of the GBF, demonstrating ISA’s comprehensive approach to marine conservation. The event also emphasized deep-sea ecosystem initiatives for advancing knowledge capacity and research and capacity-development opportunities.
ISA’s involvement aligned with COP16’s theme, “Paz con la Naturaleza – Peace with Nature,” emphasizing the vital balance between human development, environmental stewardship and ISA’s mandate for the protection of the Area for the benefit of all humanity.
About ISA
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous intergovernmental organization mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to manage the mineral resources of the seabed beyond national jurisdiction for the shared benefit of humankind. ISA is committed to the principle that all economic activities in the deep seabed, including deep-seabed mining, must be regulated and responsibly managed using the best available scientific evidence for the benefit of all nations of the world. ISA works to ensure that the voices of all States, including developing States and other stakeholders, are effectively heard in discussions around the sustainable development of the deep seabed.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Mr. Philip Janikowski, Communications Specialist, ISA, pjanikowski@isa.org.jm