From Monday 10 July until tomorrow, 21 July 2023, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is holding the meetings of Part II of its 28th session in Jamaica. Ten days of meetings in which the priority is to continue to make progress in the negotiations of the draft regulations concerning the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area. The eyes of the world are on them because what is decided here will set the course for the future of deep seabed mining.
Coinciding with this meeting, U.S. Congressman Ed Case of Hawaii introduced the American Seabed Protection Act, which calls for a moratorium on mining activities in U.S. deep waters or by U.S. companies on the high seas until the full consequences of this activity are known and protective regulatory regimes are in place.
Part II of the 28th session of the ISA Council continues until tomorrow. As said, its priority these days is "to continue to advance the negotiations on the draft regulations relating to the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area prepared by the Legal and Technical Commission of ISA and submitted to the Council in March 2019." This was recalled by H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, Secretary-General of ISA, during the opening.
"The agenda for the meeting is fully packed, and it guarantees to be a working session for the Council with substantive discussions and advances on the negotiations of the draft regulations, carrying out the mandate of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement with a view to establishing a robust legal framework for the activities in the Area, while ensuring the effective protection of the marine environment," Secretary-General Lodge said.
For his part, the President of the Council for the 28th session, Ambassador González Mijares (Mexico), recalled that his intention during his presidency is to defend the principles, rights, and duties of all members to negotiate "in good faith" in order to achieve substantive progress in the different parts of the draft regulations.
"I am looking forward to our continued efforts of creating a robust, comprehensive, sustainable and workable code of exploitation. This will be the best guarantor for the protection of the deep-sea marine environment and to fulfil benefit sharing to all countries," Ambassador González stated also in the opening.
In addition, the ISA Council will also discuss other matters, including the report on the outcome of the intersessional dialogue and working group discussions held since the end of Part I of the 28th session, the reports of the Legal and Technical Commission and the Finance Committee, and the implementation of the Enterprise and Economic Planning Commission.
While this is happening in Jamaica, in the U.S., Congressman Ed Case, Hawaii's 1st District, called for a halt to seabed mining until the legal framework under which the International Seabed Authority is working is in place. "Paired together, these bills will establish the United States as an international leader in protecting our precious oceans through a responsible process to address the potentially devastating effects of widespread, unregulated deep seabed mining," Case summarized after introducing the act and receiving support from numerous environmental associations, NGOs and various sustainable seafood market groups.
The American Seabed Protection Act requires the United States to oppose international and other national seabed mining efforts until the President certifies the ISA has adopted a suitable regulatory framework that will guarantee protection for these unique ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.
However, Case is also aware that, as the International Seabed Authority prepares that framework, both companies and countries are queuing up to obtain mining permits. They do, he says, although many are also concerned about the impact on marine ecosystems, habitats, and communities. The ISA, for its part, had already taken a step towards what it calls "binding environmental threshold values" at its 27th session.
Following what was decided there, now, while the 28th session is taking place, the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority invited its members and stakeholders to nominate experts to participate in the intersessional expert group in charge of developing binding environmental threshold values until September 15, 2023. The Council of ISA decided to progress the development of these values "as part of the ongoing development of standards and guidelines that support the development of the draft regulations on the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area."
According to a statement from ISA, the development of these threshold values will be led by its Legal and Technical Commission and supported by the scientific and technical expertise of this intersessional expert group made up of three sub-groups on the topics of toxicity, turbidity and settling of resuspended sediments, and underwater noise and light pollution.