Kingston, Jamaica – 22 May 2026 – This year, the International Day for Biological Diversity’s call to ‘act locally for global impact’ aligns directly with the International Seabed Authority’s Marine Scientific Research Action Plan, which seeks to advance scientific knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems, its biodiversity and ecological functions, and the potential impacts of exploration and exploitation activities. By studying specific (local) areas of the deep seabed, research findings can be standardized, shared, and applied at a global scale, from refining methodologies for biodiversity assessments, to building the scientific capacity of developing States, to informing the governance decisions that affect the entire international seabed area, which covers nearly 54% of the global ocean, and is called “the Area.”.
Taxonomy is the discipline that makes this possible. In an environment where much of its life remains unknown, taxonomy provides the scientific framework for identifying species, understanding their distribution, behavior and ecological roles, and ensuring that biodiversity can be monitored, compared and protected across regions and research programmes. Information on the identity of the species and relationships among them provides knowledge on essential characteristics of the biological communities and ecosystems, such as diversity, biogeography, connectivity, resilience and ecosystem functions, which are critical to inform environmental management measures.
Since 2001, mineral exploration activities in the Area have supported 255 research cruises, overseeing investments of over USD $2.26 billion, including USD $413 million dedicated specifically to environmental studies. These have resulted in more than 200,000 species observations across exploration areas in the Central and Northwest Pacific, North Atlantic and Indian Ocean currently available through the ISA DeepData database and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS).
For the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), combining local scientific actions such as inventorying a region in areas beyond national jurisdiction, identifying, describing, and naming a species, and supporting the training of taxonomists from developing States, directly feeds into meeting the global biodiversity targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and governance decisions on the deep-sea. Together, these efforts are shaping how the international community understands, monitors, and protects the deep seabed and how it can effectively implement the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
We spoke with two specialists about the critical links between taxonomy, the KMGBF, and the governance of areas like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).
Luciana Genio, Environmental Coordinator at the ISA, leads efforts to integrate taxonomic knowledge into environmental management and regulatory decision-making in the international seabed area.
Leen Vandepitte, Coordinator of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) at the Flanders Marine Institute, oversees global marine species databases and ensures that taxonomic data are standardized, findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable, serving science, policy, industry and the public at large.
This year’s International Day for Biodiversity theme calls us to “act locally for global impact.” How does the work of ISA and WoRMS connect to the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the understanding and management of the deep seabed?
Dr. Genio:
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , the Area and its resources are designated as the common heritage of humankind. ISA is entrusted with organizing and controlling mineral-related activities in the Area while adopting appropriate measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution and other hazards to the marine environment. Delivering on this responsibility depends on sound scientific knowledge, and species taxonomy is a key area that makes this knowledge reliable and comparable across ISA’s Contractors, designated contract areas, and time.
ISA’s Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative (SSKI) has made significant efforts to financially support local taxonomists, enabling them to contribute to the global knowledge base. The CCZ, for instance, is on track to become the best-documented abyssal region and is a model for how other parts of the deep seabed area could be approached with similar rigour and ambition. I believe this is a direct reflection of how ISA’s work fits the principle of acting locally for global impact, and directly contributes to the KMGBF goals by providing adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology and make these equitably accessible to all member States, especially developing States.
Ms. Vandepitte:
WoRMS is a living example of local-to-global action. Every species description submitted by taxonomists is validated, standardized and made accessible. The World Register of Deep-Sea Species (WoRDSS) currently lists over 30,800 described species found at depths greater than 500 metres. This number grows steadily as new discoveries are made and validated.
The KMGBF sets ambitious targets, including the conservation of at least 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2030. Achieving these targets requires knowledge on what biodiversity is present, where it occurs, how it is distributed and what ecological functions and services it supports. Classification systems serve as a common scientific language, allowing biodiversity data generated across research programmes, Contractors and international initiatives to be interpreted consistently and used in environmental decision-making. WoRMS provides the taxonomic backbone that makes that knowledge accessible, comparable across regions in the Area, and usable evidence to inform environmental policymaking.
Taxonomy is often described as the foundation of biodiversity science. And yet, it can feel abstract to a general audience. Ms. Vandepitte, why does naming and classifying deep-sea species matter for conservation and governance, and what understanding of this unique ecosystem is lost when a species remains undescribed?
In the WoRMS community, we often explain the importance of taxonomy by quoting the late Lord Robert M. May. He said that “without taxonomy to give shape to the bricks and systematics to tell us how to put them together, the house of biological science is a meaningless jumble.” To visualize this in the literal sense, imagine building a house with bricks and an architectural plan. If the taxonomy is incomplete, so are the bricks and the plan. What you build will be structurally unsound, and that is a recipe for disaster both in the short and long term.
Carl Linnaeus, known as the father of modern taxonomy, said that, “if you do not know the name of things, the knowledge of them is lost, too.” For us, this means that a species name is the common identifier that connects otherwise fragmented observations and information, turning them into knowledge that can be organized, tracked, and used. By identifying, describing and naming organisms, taxonomy transforms scattered observations into structured knowledge that both scientists, and regulators such as the ISA, can use. In areas beyond national jurisdiction, where scientific knowledge continues to expand through ongoing research, taxonomy is indispensable to the application of precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches.
From a data perspective, taxonomy also provides the standardized nomenclature needed to compare datasets and enables the use of biological indicators to track change and assess potential impacts from human activities with confidence. Without standardized taxonomic reference systems, much of the data generated by modern survey methods, such as environmental DNA analysis or machine learning image annotations of high-resolution videos, cannot be fully integrated into environmental assessment frameworks.
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) may be home to over 6,000 to 8,000 species. Ms. Vandepitte, what does this tell us about the richness of life in the deep sea, and how are WoRMS and ISA working together to build a clearer picture of biodiversity in this region? How can a place like the CCZ be framed as ‘local’, and how does the Deep-Sea Species Register help bring that regional picture into a coherent global biodiversity record?
The scale of biodiversity in the CCZ is remarkable, and it is a reminder of how much we have still to learn. Scientists estimate that 88–92 per cent of species in the CCZ remain undescribed. To put the CCZ in geographic perspective, it covers approximately 11.5 million km², placing it in size between Canada (9.9 million km²) and Antarctica (12.5 million km²). Within the vastness of the North Pacific Ocean and the deep-sea, the CCZ can be understood as a ‘local’ region. Inventorying and naming all marine species from the CCZ contributes enormously to the global goals of WoRDSS and WoRMS and is a powerful demonstration of what it means to act locally for global impact.
For instance, a recent study on amphipod crustaceans in the CCZ collected 708 specimens and identified 207 genetic units, yet only 17 species matched previously described taxa while 48 appeared to be entirely new to science. Most taxa were rare and geographically restricted, with limited connectivity between populations across the region. Such findings highlight precisely why taxonomy is so important for understanding biodiversity patterns and evaluating whether environmental management measures, including protected areas, adequately represent deep-sea ecosystems.
In July 2023, ISA and WoRMS released the first comprehensive species checklist for the CCZ under SSKI. This dynamic register compiles validated taxonomic and geolocation data in a FAIR-compliant format, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. It provides a harmonized reference tool for Contractors, scientists and regulators, ensuring comparability across surveys and supporting spatial planning, cumulative impact assessment, and conservation measures. The checklist continues to grow as new species are described and additional occurrences are recorded.
The integration of the CCZ checklist with WoRMS and ISA’s DeepData platform means that newly described species can be rapidly incorporated into a global, accessible taxonomic infrastructure. Each new entry adds to the global picture of marine life that exists in the deep seabed. WoRMS plays a crucial role in providing standardized nomenclatures, resolving synonymies, and ensuring each species has a unique and accepted scientific name that can be used reliably by Contractors, regulators and the scientific community alike.
ISA sits at a unique intersection of mineral resource governance and environmental protection in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Dr. Genio, how does ISA’s mandate and the data it collects from ISA Contractors and research institutions contribute to the targets set out in the KMGBF, particularly around marine protected areas and the 30×30 target?
Under UNCLOS, ISA’s mandate is to regulate mineral-related activities in the Area while ensuring the effective protection of the marine environment. These responsibilities are complementary for which taxonomy acts as the connecting thread between the two.
To date, ISA has approved 31 exploration contracts, covering three types of mineral resources in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Polymetallic nodules are found in abyssal plains, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts form on seamounts, and polymetallic sulfides occur in mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal vent systems. Each of these habitats hosts distinct biological communities. Contractors are required not only to map and survey the seabed resources but to carry out environmental surveys identifying and geolocating species, from microbiota to megafauna, before any activity is authorized.
This data, generated by both ISA Contractors and partner research institutions, feeds directly into the evidence base needed to establish and manage protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures under the ISA’s Regional Environmental Management Plans. Along with other environmental information, standardized taxonomic data allows us to reliably identify which areas are most ecologically or biologically significant or detect changes over time.
Taxonomy is what transforms these surveys into regulatory evidence. The One Thousand Reasons campaign directly supports the targets of the KMGBF by systematically expanding the taxonomic knowledge base needed to inform conservation planning. Through using internationally recognized scientific approaches and criteria, such as those used by CBD for identifying Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas, ISA’s spatial planning process directly contributes to meeting KMGBF targets to reduce biodiversity loss, while ensuring that any sustainable use is fully consistent with conservation outcomes. For instance, the current CCZ network of Areas of Particular Environmental Interest consists of 13 areas amounting to approximately 1.97 million km2 of protected seabed.
It also aligns with the BBNJ Agreement, which addresses the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, precisely the waters ISA regulates. Reaching the 30×30 target in the deep sea requires knowing what needs to be protected. That begins with taxonomy.
Scientific exploration has fundamentally transformed our understanding of the deep sea — from a place once assumed to be largely lifeless, to one now known to host extraordinary biodiversity. What do people most misunderstand about life in the deep sea, and what discoveries have most changed how scientists think about it?
Dr. Genio:
The most persistent misconception I have encountered is the assumption that “there is nothing there — it’s dark and cold, nothing can live there.” Technological advances over the last decades have comprehensively challenged that view. Development and enhancement of mobile and fixed instruments including autonomous vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, video exploration systems, moorings and landers have allowed reaching deeper areas of the seabed and made knowledge and awareness of the deep-sea more accessible.
Non-destructive, cost-effective methodologies, including those using artificial intelligence and machine learning, such as environmental DNA analysis and high-resolution video surveys, have also evolved to document deep-sea biodiversity. Each of these tools generates new data, but without standardized image catalogues, genomic libraries and taxonomic reference systems, that data cannot be fully compared or integrated across surveys and institutions. This reinforces why sustained investment in taxonomy is essential. While the technologies rapidly advance, the taxonomy foundations will remain meaningful.
Capacity-building is central to sustaining this momentum. Through partnerships such as the ISA-Ifremer postdoctoral fellowship in deep-sea taxonomy, scientists from developing member States are advancing innovative tools, including three-dimensional imaging techniques and automated species identification, while contributing directly to biodiversity assessments in areas under exploration. Through collaboration among ISA, WoRMS and the broader scientific community, including the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Biodiversity Information System and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the taxonomic record of deep-sea biodiversity continues to expand.
Ms. Vandepitte:
I agree that capacity-building and knowledge sharing is critical, which WoRMS supports by providing open access to authoritative, standardized marine taxonomic information, strengthening global expertise, and enabling consistent biodiversity data use across research, monitoring, and policy.
Video footage of the deep sea is now widely shared through social media and broadcast platforms. Personally, I am still mesmerized by the variety of colours, the grace with which deep-sea species move through the water, and the extraordinary adaptations that allow life to thrive in what appears, at least from a human perspective, to be a hostile environment.
I firmly believe that you cannot cherish and value what you do not know, and by extension, what you do not understand. Bringing the deep sea to people’s front door through outreach, education and open data is the most powerful way of making people care about an otherwise inaccessible environment. WoRMS’s annual celebration of the Top Ten Marine Species is one part of that effort of making the discoveries of the deep-sea ecosystems and its organisms both visible and meaningful to the general public.
WoRMS currently curates 250,000 described marine species, a new milestone reached on 13 May 2026, and in 2025 alone, almost 2.600 new marine species were described, including some 660 fossil species. Each year, these discoveries demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of marine biodiversity still being uncovered. The pace of discovery is not slowing; if anything, improved methodologies and increased international collaboration are accelerating it.
About ISA
ISA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization mandated by the UNCLOS to manage the mineral resources of the seabed beyond national jurisdiction for the shared benefit of humankind. ISA is committed to ensuring that all economic activities in the deep seabed, including mining, are regulated and responsibly managed using the best available scientific evidence for the benefit of all humankind.
About the “One Thousand Reasons” Campaign
Launched by the ISA under SSKI, it is a global effort to describe at least 1,000 new deep-sea species by 2030. The campaign promotes international collaboration, particularly engaging scientists from developing States, and integrates species descriptions into open-access databases to support sustainable management of the international seabed area.
SSKI is a multi-donor, flagship initiative under the ISA’s Marine Scientific Research Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science. The Initiative has received significant financial support from the European Union, the Republic of Korea, France, Ireland, China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), Portugal and India.
About the World Register of Marine Species
WoRMS is an authoritative global database providing comprehensive, curated taxonomic information on marine organisms. Managed by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and supported by a network of over 350 taxonomic editors worldwide, WoRMS ensures that species names are accurate, standardized and interoperable. WoRMS facilitates the integration of biodiversity data from research initiatives, including the ISA’s SSKI, enabling scientists, regulators and policymakers to access reliable species-level information that supports environmental assessments, monitoring and stewardship of the oceans.
For media inquiries, please contact:
ISA Communications Unit, news@isa.org.jm
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