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The International Seabed Authority (ISA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea (MOMAF) and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), will convene an online workshop on Enhancing Image-based Biodiversity Assessments to Advance Deep-Sea Taxonomy via the Microsoft Teams platform from 12 to 14 October 2021. The workshop will be conducted in two separate sessions:
This workshop advances the results of previous workshops on taxonomic standardization organized by ISA. In particular, the most recent workshop on Deepsea Taxonomic Standardization: Strategic Approaches for Collaboration, held in September 2020. This workshop identified key needs, priorities, and collaborative approaches for increasing deep-sea taxonomic knowledge, which are being further developed and consolidated into a roadmap to promote effective integration of deep-sea taxonomic information into ISA’s efforts towards facilitating activities in the Area in an environmentally responsible manner.
In response to these needs and priorities, this workshop aims to identify technical means and key elements for a standardized model necessary to facilitate effective sharing and use of image data within the context of ISA, with a view to enhancing deep-sea species identification and quantification, as well as increasing capacity and literacy in deep-sea taxonomy.
It is expected that the workshop outcomes will provide the ISA Secretariat with the necessary elements to develop a practical model of sharing images, as well as optimizing and standardizing the application of images for biodiversity assessments, particularly species identification and description, in support of the work of ISA. The workshop is also expected to support members, contractors, and other relevant stakeholders of ISA in exploring opportunities to collaborate on innovating image-based biodiversity assessments, increase the awareness of associated methodologies, and promote capacity-building efforts in the field of deep-sea taxonomy.
A detailed agenda and other meeting documents will be uploaded in due course.
This meeting will focus on topics related to:
The Secretariat will invite experts with the following expertise to contribute to this Technical Meeting:
This meeting aims to:
Members of ISA, as well as observers, contractors, international and regional organizations, projects/programs and initiatives, and academic/scientific institutions with an interest in contributing to the objectives of the open meeting on 14 October 2021, are invited to register here as soon as possible, but no later than 15 September 2021.
*The registration deadline has been extended to 24 September 2021.
The maximum number of participants will be limited to 80 to enable effective engagement and discussion. Participants will be selected based on their relevant knowledge of image-based biodiversity assessments, especially taxonomic tools and approaches, their experience in taxonomic services and capacity-building programmes, as well as their interest in technical and financial partnerships for collaboration. Geographic representation and gender balance will also be taken into consideration. Selected participants will be notified in due course, and no later than 24 September 2021.
For enquiries, please contact: Luciana Genio, Environmental Analyst, Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources, ISA (lgenio@isa.org.jm)