At the recent 19th Meeting of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Secretary-General of the Seabed Authority, Nii A Odunton reported on the important elements of the work of the Authority over the past months.
Mr Odunton outlined the outcomes of the Authority’s 15th Session and reported on three main activities:
- the expected completion of the establishment of a geological model for the Clarion Clipperton Zone in 2009 and the presentation of the results of this project at a workshop towards the end of the year;
- the success of the Authority’s Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research which has attracted a wide range of proposals aimed at providing qualified scientists and personnel from developing countries with opportunities to participate in international technical and scientific cooperation programs; and
- the successful response to the Authority’s regional sensitization seminars in Indonesia in 2007, Brazil in 2008 and Nigeria in 2009. The seminars were organised in collaboration with the host governments and aimed at promoting wider participation from the regions concerned.