On Thursday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) focused on issues related to the Enterprise, an organ foreseen in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as ISA’s own mining arm. Delegates discussed the operationalization of the Enterprise, a joint venture proposal with the Government of Poland, and a draft decision on the terms of reference for the Special Representative for the Enterprise.
Highlights of the day include:
On Wednesday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) continued its deliberations, addressing cooperation with other relevant international organizations and further focusing on components of the draft regulations for exploitation of mineral resources in the Area, including:
Highlights of the day include:
The Principality of Monaco announced today that it has pledged extraordinary support to the programmes and initiatives of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) that promote and encourage deep sea marine scientific research. More specifically, the € 20,000 grant announced by Monaco will be allocated to the Secretary-General’s Award for Excellence in Deep Sea Research and to the Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research.
On Tuesday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) continued its deliberations on components of the draft regulations for exploitation of mineral resources in the Area, focusing on:
regulatory efficiency, including potential delegation of functions by the Council to the Secretariat;
the relationship between the draft exploitation regulations and regional environmental management plans (REMPs); and
implementation of the precautionary approach to activities in the Area.
Highlights of the day include:
On Monday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) opened for the first part of the 25th annual session in Kingston, Jamaica.
The Council elected its President and Vice-Presidents for 2019, addressed organizational matters, and heard reports on the status of exploration contracts, the implementation of the 2018 Council decision relating to the summary report of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) Chair and a strategy for the development of regional environmental management plans for the Area.
Representatives from Member States, civil society organizations and contractors, gathered at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, this week, for an open ended informal working group meeting established to advance discussions on the financial model for mineral exploitation in the international deep seabed area.
The first part of the 25th annual session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will consist of a meeting of the ISA Council convening from 25 February-1 March 2019 and a meeting of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) from 4-15 March 2019, in Kingston, Jamaica. The meeting arrangement follows the revised schedule, decided at the 23rd session, which is expected to increase transparency and engender a mutually responsive dialogue between the LTC and the Council.
The main items to be discussed at the Council meeting are:
The 25th Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) opened in Kingston, Jamaica, today with its gaze focused on the development of draft exploitation regulations for minerals in the international seabed area, and other regulatory matters.
Representatives from Member States, international organizations, civil society organizations and contractors are gathered here this week to continue their discussions around the draft exploitation regulations, including proposals for the payment mechanism for mineral exploitations.
Governments officials and experts from Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) convened at a regional workshop held in Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga this week, to strengthen national and regional capacities to access sustainably and benefit from seabed activities and therefore, from the Blue Economy.
International Seabed Authority (ISA)’s Secretary-General Mr Michael Lodge is in the Kingdom of Tonga this week to attend a regional workshop jointly organised by ISA and UNDESA with the support of the Kingdom of Tonga to discuss increased participation of P-SIDS in activities undertaken in the international seabed area as well as identifying the capacity-building needs of the Pacific sponsoring States.
Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In recent decades, the international community has made great strides in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet many challenges remain. According to UNESCO, women today account for only 38 per cent of the world’s researchers in ocean science, and the rate is even lower for women from developing countries.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) will hold a regional training and capacity building workshop for Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) on deep seabed mining in Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga, from 12 to 14 February 2019.
The Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will open on the 25 February 2019 for the first part of its 25th annual session in Kingston, Jamaica, with Member States set to continue their discussions around the draft exploitation regulations for commercial deep seabed mining, which will include proposals for the payment mechanism for mineral exploitation. Policy discussions concerning key areas from the draft regulations will be the main focus of deliberations.
The comparative study of economic models requested by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council is now available on the ISA website: http://bit.ly/isa-wg
The World Maritime University (WMU) and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation with a view, among other things, to advance achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. The focus is on improving education and capacity-building initiatives in marine science.
