Being deep-sea scientists is all about wandering into the unknown, strongly driven by our research motivations. Some people say that life is all about opportunities, and for us the opportunity to attend the Council meeting at 2nd part of the ISA Annual Session was one of those life changing experiences, a reinforcement of our passion […]
Read More
Throughout the week-long Council Meeting of the 25th Session of the International Seabed Authority, one issue continuously bubbled up in the breezeways, on the bus, and around the bars, a source of debate even though it would not be brought to the table until the Assembly convened the next Monday. The topic such intense discussion? […]
Read More
Deep seabed mining has the potential to accelerate progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by increasing scientific knowledge of the deep ocean whilst at the same time providing opportunities for economic growth on the basis of fairness and equity , highlighted Mr. Michael W. Lodge, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) […]
Read More
In the impressive Department of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria, over 80 national delegates, members of the International Seabed Authority Secretariat, contractors, industry professionals, NGO representatives and academics, covering a wide range of skills and expertise, gathered last week. They were tasked with not only prioritizing the list of Standards and Guidelines to support […]
Read More Press Release To mark the 25th Anniversary of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the Government of the People’s Republic of China pledged extraordinary support to the programmes and initiatives of ISA that encourage increased participation of developing States, including in marine scientific research activities, and promote the sustainable development of mineral resources in the international deep seabed […]
Read More
The slow decline of Nautilus Minerals continues without much change. I reached out to several contacts both at Nautilus’s corporate offices and to colleagues within Papua New Guinea. Since last month, most of the board of directors and the current CEO have resigned, Nautilus was delisted from the Toronto stock exchange, and previously responsive sources […]
Read More
Secretary-General Micael Lodge for the Economist | 2 April 2019 Deep sea mineral exploration is one of the most tightly regulated activities in the ocean. Under international law, exploration, as distinct from marine scientific research (which is open to all States), may only be undertaken under a contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an […]
Read More Press Release UN Permanent Representatives, senior officials as well as many legal and scientific experts attending the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Conference for the conservation and sustainable development of marine diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) in New York this week attended a side-event on Tuesday 26 March dedicated to acknowledging the 25 […]
Read More
It was a cool week in Kingston as representatives from member states, observers, NGOs, and other stakeholders gathered at the International Seabed Authority to continue the quarter-century-long process of guiding mineral extraction in the high seas towards production. Discussions were broad in vision, focused in scope, and soberingly detailed. While everything from the percentage points […]
Read More 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. Established by the ISA Council in July 2018, the […]
Read More