Marking her 30th anniversary, Isa is the global authority over the deep sea beyond the national jurisdiction. Washington may have made an ordinance on high seas licenses in international waters earlier this year, but the head of the Authority Leticia Carvalho said that the United States, who is not a member of the ISA, “goes alone”.
“The rest of the world is united and cohesive and everything behind the rule of law and international Sea Feld Authority,” said Carvalho UN News. “Isa is a great power. We have all the knowledge, we have the capacity given by law, we have the mandate. ”
Indeed, under international law, the deep seabed beyond the national jurisdiction does not belong to any nation, said Ms. Carvalho, inviting the United States to join Isa.
To respond to these concerns, Isa has written a mining code as a means of ensuring that the deep SEA remains protected and does not turn into “Wild West” of the farm, she said.
Read our explanator on Isa and why is it important now here.
Expensive search for rare minerals
The rare minerals necessary to ensure the requests for the production of technological items from batteries to solar panels aroused interest in depth and what it offers. From cobalt to zinc, a plethora of minerals of rare earths was observed by explorations of the bottom of the ocean.
Isa issued 31 mineral exploration contracts to 21 companies from 20 countries from 2024, according to the United Nations Global economic situation and 2025 report. Although commercial exploitation in international waters has not yet started, the expectation of the finalization of an international code for mining on the high seas by the ISA, at the moment, countries can continue to exploit the high seas in their own territorial waters or “exclusive economic zones”.
Even after the implementation of the International Code, people engaged in the mining on the high seas will continue to cope with major challenges due to high capital requirements and operational costs compared to conventional mining and the huge technical uncertainty associated with unique problems surrounding mining on the bottom of the ocean, according to the United Nations report.
‘One of our last borders’
UN Secretary General António Guterres said that international seabed is “the common heritage of humanity, a principle devoted in the United Nations Convention on the Act of the Seawho must continue to guide us ”.
“We must bring together our global efforts in climate action, the preservation of biodiversity and marine protection,” he said in a message Marking Isa’s birthday, congratulating his commitment to find balanced and effective solutions. “The deep ocean remains one of our last borders. It is very promising, but also requires great caution. ”
For 30 years, the authority has helped to protect this shared area thanks to peaceful, sustainable and inclusive governance, and today it sails on complex and clarity challenges, he said, stressing that “when we mark this step, let us progress cooperation in science and continue to work together to save the ocean for the benefit of all people, everywhere.”
The deep sea contains a plethora of life and minerals of rare earths.
Operating code and more
In addition to achieving progress on a mining code project during its current annual session at Kingston headquarters, Jamaica, Isa launched his deep biobank last month in order to preserve and share knowledge.
The initiative aims to collect and preserve samples from the bottom of the ocean that will benefit all nations, in particular developing countries, said Ms. Carvalho, adding that the objective is to study minerals, exploration and operating potential, but also to preserve and study biodiversity and genetics.
“The future I see is that we really have to take care, cherish [and] Nourish the deep sea, “said Ms. Carvalho.” The future of Isa is stronger, improved, wider and wiser. We will know much more than we know now. »»
Learn more about Isa here.
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
