🌱 What is the ISA’s mandate?
The ISA was formed in 1982, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and it has a small rotating council of member states. The rotating council makes decisions on behalf of 167 countries, plus the EU. (Notably, the USA has never joined.) The ISA “regulates and controls all mineral-related activities on seabeds in international waters” and its mandate includes “ensur[ing] that mineral extraction from international waters would benefit humankind”. In line with this, the ISA started working on creating rules on deep-sea mining in 2014. It has recently been working to “finaliz[e] regulations for mining activities in over 40 percent of the planet’s surface”.
🌱 Why is the ISA currently meeting?
On 10 July 2023, the ISA came together for a round of negotiations in Kingston, Jamaica to discuss the future of deep-sea mining. Member states are “currently negotiating a mining code to establish the rules under which companies will be allowed to extract minerals from the seabed”. At the ongoing meetings, the ISA aims to reach an agreement on these rules.
🌱 Why is deep-sea mining being discussed?
Mining the deep seabed has become topical in light of the ongoing energy transition, as reserves of minerals and metals needed for batteries, electric cars, and renewable energy technologies could be extracted from the ocean’s seabed. Moreover, in June 2021, the Pacific Island nation of Nauru – a member to the ISA – “invoked a provision of the treaty”, commonly referred to as the “two-year rule”. This rule “requires the [ISA] to adopt rules for deep-sea mining within 24 months” and “to allow applications for seabed mining from July 2023”. If the ISA “cannot agree on a full set of safeguards” for deep-sea mining this summer, it will have “to consider applications for commercial mining permits under the skeleton framework designed for exploration”.
🌱 What role does the High Seas Treaty play?
In March 2023, the High Seas Treaty – which aims to protect marine environments – was adopted. Yet, the High Seas Treaty has been described as “powerless” when it comes to deep-sea mining. It does not “have any power over mining activities overseen by the [ISA] because it does not apply directly to activities already regulated by existing bodies”. The treaty sets out “institutionalised and coordinated protective measure[s]”, but does this “without any clear provisions to obstruct mining”. In other words, it does not directly “impede or hamper deep-sea mining exploration”.
Read more about the ISA’s ongoing meetings here:
- https://www.ft.com/content/95ec1105-3f5e-4055-bde8-a0c194f02d35
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/opinion/ocean-mining-climate.html
- https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-96138.html
- https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2023/07/03/treaty-to-protect-high-seas-too-late-to-stop-mining/