SEABED COUNCIL AGREES ON SEPARATE REGULATIONS FOR SULPHIDES, CRUSTS

AS IT CONCLUDES WORK FOR SESSION

 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, 15 August (International Seabed Authority) -– The Council of the International Seabed Authority, meeting in Kingston today, reached a consensus on how to proceed with its work on formulating regulations to govern prospecting and exploration of polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts in the deep seabed Area, as it concluded its work for the session.

Accepting a proposal by Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan, the Council decided to develop separate sets of regulations for the two types of minerals, and to concentrate first on a code for polymetallic sulphides at the Authority’s session next year.

The Council also heard two presentations by officials of the Secretariat on the Authority’s Central Data Repository, which was established in 2000 with the aim of collecting and centralizing all public and private data, and information on marine mineral resources.

Presenting his proposal, the Secretary-General said that following the workshop on the technological and economic aspects of mining the two minerals, which preceded the session, there was agreement among Legal and Technical Commission members on issues such as size and contiguity of blocks and areas to be relinquished with respect to sulphides.  As such, there was very little technical work to be done, and the task at hand was to separate the regulations from those for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

This was a mechanical task, the Secretary-General explained, which would be carried out by the Secretariat.  A new draft would be circulated to outgoing members of the Commission in time for them to make final contributions and improvements by the end of their terms on 31 December 2006.  After this date the draft would be made available to incoming members for their input before being prepared in final draft form for circulation to member States in advance of the 2007 session.

With regard to the regulations for cobalt-rich crusts, there were opposing views on matters such as the size of blocks to be allocated, the relinquishment procedure and the issue of equity participation.  Secretary-General Nandan noted that information and recommendations which emerged from the workshop, including new thoughts on mining selection parameters and alternative fee options, as well as a proposal put forward by the Russian Federation to amend wording of several regulations, would have to be taken into account in reworking the draft for crusts, as they brought technical, economic and political issues to the table.

The Secretary-General proposed that the new draft regulations on crusts would be examined by the Legal and Technical Commission when they meet immediately prior to the Authority’s next session.  He pointed out that working in this manner would avoid the need for an intersessional meeting of the Commission, which would cost around $324,000.

In the ensuing discussion, several delegates took the floor to support the Secretary-General’s proposal.   Mexico hailed the proposal as timely, while Germany was satisfied that a “sensible way forward” had been found.   Jamaica commended the Secretary-General on his “wise and practical proposal”.  Other delegations, including Argentina, Chile, China, Indonesia, Namibia, the Netherlands and Trinidad and Tobago also endorsed the proposal.

China expressed the view that it was premature to formulate definitive regulations on sulphides as knowledge was still minimal and more time was needed to conduct further studies on those minerals.

Brazil, recalling yesterday’s debate on the possibility of an intersessional Legal and Technical Commission meetings in New York, reminded the Council that the International Seabed Authority was the only international organization headquartered in this region, and as such, every effort should be made to ensure that, as mandated, the Authority’s meetings be convened in Jamaica. This view was supported by Argentina and Nigeria.

Following the discussion, the Council heard two presentations which highlighted the task of the Secretariat in developing a central data repository (CDR) for the Authority.  One presentation, on the Geographic Information System (GIS), was made by the scientific officer, Markus Wengler and the other, on Marine Minerals Data Repository, by marine geologist Dr. Vijay Kadagali.

The GIS presentation revealed mapping techniques used by the Authority to determine the depth of the ocean, patterns of biodiversity and sediments, resource distribution and their economic potential, and other special features.  According to Mr. Wengler, the GIS tools are used to analyze and model areas of particular interest, including seamounts and guyots containing polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, and the nodule deposits in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

The other presentation highlighted the work of the Authority to collect, format and centralize all public and private data and information on marine mineral resources, and make them available to members. Dr. Kadagali said there were 2,752 data sets, describing samples and related information, on polymetallic nodules alone, and more than 3,500 samples of data on cobalt-bearing crusts.  The Authority currently has more than 2,600 records of the geochemical elements of sulphides and information on 327 sites where the mineral is deposited.

The Authority’s CDR is currently accessible on the World Wide Web:  http://www.cdr.isa.org.jm/

In addition to updating the content of the repository, work will be undertaken to expand the CDR by introducing other data types such as an environmental and biological database on the meiofauna in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, and a web-enabled bathymetric database of the nodule provinces in the zone and the Central Indian Ocean.  Dr. Kadagali told the Council that those and other enhanced data will be featured on a new interactive website to be launched by the Secretariat later this year.

Mr. Nandan expressed gratitude to Governments, institutions, and corporations for their assistance in collecting the data, and paid tribute to his “dedicated, talented and professional” staff.  Delegates praised the Secretariat for its work on the CDR.   Nigeria said the CDR was a demonstration of the impact and relevance of the International Seabed Authority.

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For information media • not an official record