On 15 July 2022, the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) and the Finance Committee (FC) of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) closed their meetings under the second part of the 27th session of the Authority. The LTC and the FC met in person in Kingston, Jamaica between 4 and 15 July 2022 and between 13 and 15 July, respectively.
During its meetings, the LTC made progress on the following items, among others:
- It adopted and submitted to the Council the draft regional environmental management plan (REMP) for the Area of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge as well as a standardized procedure for the development, approval and review of REMPs.
- It completed its evaluation of the 31 annual reports submitted by the contractors.
- It completed its review of the Recommendations for the guidance of contractors for the assessment of the possible environmental impacts arising from exploration for marine minerals in the Area (ISBA/25/LTC/6/Rev.2).
- It prepared and submitted to the Council the draft procedure and criteria for consideration of a request of transfer of rights and obligations under an exploration contract.
- It reviewed the amended environmental impact statement submitted by Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. on 2 May 2022.
“I wish to congratulate the Legal and Technical Commission for its achievements over the past six years. Thanks to your efforts, the Authority has been able to significantly advance its work to regulate activities in the Area and protect the marine environment,” H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, the Secretary-General of ISA, said.
The Finance Committee reviewed the proposed budget for the period 2023-2024, as well as other financial and budgetary matters. The FC continued its discussions on the equitable sharing of financial and other economic benefits derived from activities in the Area and decided that these matters should be included in the work programme for the FC for the remainder of 2022 and 2023. Further, it prepared and reviewed the terms of reference for the voluntary trust fund to support the participation of members of the Council from developing States in all meetings of the Council and adopted the draft terms of reference for the newly established ISA partnership fund. The Finance Committee also reiterated its call to all Members of ISA to pay their assessed contributions to the budget on time and in full, particularly Members with outstanding contributions.
“I commend the members of the Finance Committee on their work and their assiduous efforts to ensure full transparency and efficiency in the financial and budgetary management of the Authority,” Mr. Lodge said.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Stefanie Neno, Communications Specialist, ISA, sneno@isa.org.jm