SEABED COUNCIL RECEIVES PROPOSAL TO COLLECT ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Press Release
SEA/1637
SEABED COUNCIL RECEIVES PROPOSAL TO COLLECT ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
19990820(Received from the International Seabed Authority.)
KINGSTON, 19 August -- A proposal to identify gaps in knowledge about the environmental impact of deep-seabed mining, and to draw up a plan for gathering such data, was placed this morning before the Council of the International Seabed Authority, meeting in Kingston.
The recommendation was made by the Chairman of the Council's Legal and Technical Commission, Jean-Pierre Lenoble (France). It arose from the Commission's study last week of proposed guidelines on environmental monitoring of seabed activities developed by a workshop on this topic convened by the Authority at Hanya, China, in June 1998.
On another topic, to allow time for further consultations, the Council put off to its next meeting, at 4 p.m. today, its further consideration of the draft rules of procedure of the Legal and Technical Commission.
A revised draft of the Mining Code (ISBA/5/C/4 and Corr.1), incorporating the amendments and proposals made during last year's session and during the Council's informal meetings last week, has now been circulated in all languages. The Council, meeting in informal consultations, will begin its second reading of the draft, regulation by regulation, tomorrow morning, 20 August.
Report of Legal and Technical Commission
The proposal on environmental data relating to deep-seabed mining was the main recommendation of a report made today by the Chairman of the Legal and Technical Commission on the six meetings it held in Kingston last week as part of the current three-week session of the Authority.
The Commission recommended that the Authority launch a cooperative international programme to promote research on the marine environment, assess its sensitivity to possible impacts from deep-seabed activities and ensure its protection. States and international organizations would fund participating scientific institutions.
In view of the scant knowledge about environmental impacts, the Commission recommended that the Authority's secretariat should prepare a study on the matter for next year's session. This study would "identify repositories that collect environmental data required to monitor the impact of activities in the [international seabed] area, identify existing gaps, formulate a plan for the retrieval of appropriate data from such sources, and make recommendations for the development of a database for the analysis and synthesis of such data".
Chairman Lenoble said the Commission had begun studying the Sanya workshop's proposed guidelines for assessing environmental impacts and would continue its examination next year. The proposals were seen not as regulations but as guides that a mining contractor could follow, depending on circumstances.
The Commission also repeated a recommendation it had made last August, that the Authority convene a workshop on minerals other than the polymetallic nodules on which it has concentrated since its inception. The Chairman observed that a workshop on seabed mining technologies, held in Kingston from 3 to 6 August, had given an interesting insight into massive sulphide deposits and gas hydrates. "Because of the high metal value contained in some of the massive sulphide deposits that have been discovered", he added, "it was noted that, in the next few years, it is possible to see some attempts for commercial exploitation of such resources."
Several Council members commented on a remark that Mr. Lenoble said he was making in his personal capacity, in which he lamented the absence of some Commission members from its meetings and suggested that the secretariat encourage their attendance. Nigeria, Mexico, Cuba, Fiji, Chile and the United Kingdom underscored the importance of participation in the meetings. The cost of attendance and the fact that those expenses were borne by the individual members was cited as an influencing factor.
Nigeria suggested that the Authority consider establishing a trust fund to assist participants attending the meetings and workshops. Mexico cautioned that non-participation of members of the Commission would affect equitable geographic distribution in that body. Chile supported a recommendation by Fiji that the Mining Code should deal with the problem of attendance, while the United Kingdom said the secretariat should attempt to determine the reasons for absences before deciding on an approach to the problem.
Other Matters
The observer from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) pledged its support and cooperation, especially in the following areas: examining the impact of exploration or exploitation activities on biodiversity and ecosystems in the marine environment; studying the risks of marine pollution and establishing standards for its prevention and control; sharing of oceanographic data; co-sponsoring seminars, workshops and training programmes, and coordinating work programmes to avoid duplication of effort.
The Council turned briefly to the rules of procedure of the Legal and Technical Commission, which it has been considering for the past two days. New Zealand offered an update to its amendment to rule 6 (private and public meetings). The proposal now reads: "The Commission shall take into account the desirability of holding open meetings when issues of general interest to members of the Authority, which do not involve the discussion of confidential information, are being discussed."
According to the sponsor, the changes had been made to accommodate the concern expressed informally by some delegations that the original proposal seemed to require time-consuming debates in the Commission on holding open or closed meetings.
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