31st Session of the International Seabed Authority (part II)
The International Seabed Authority (ISA; French: Autorité internationale des fonds marins) is a Kingston, Jamaica-based intergovernmental body of 171 Member States plus the European Union.
It was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Agreement on Implementation. The ISA’s dual mission is to authorize and control the development of mineral related operations in the international seabed, which is considered the “common heritage of all mankind“, and to protect the ecosystem of the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil in “The Area” beyond national jurisdiction. The ISA is responsible for safeguarding the international deep sea, defined as waters below 200 meters (656 feet), where photosynthesis is hampered by inadequate light. Governing approximately half of the total area of the world’s oceans, the ISA oversees activities that might threaten biological diversity and harm the marine environment. Since its inception in 1994, the ISA has approved over two dozen ocean floor mining exploration contracts in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The majority of these contracts are for exploration in the Clarion–Clipperton zone between Hawaii and Mexico, where polymetallic nodules contain copper, cobalt and other minerals essential for powering electric batteries. To date, the Authority has not authorized any commercial mining contracts as it continues to deliberate over regulations amid global calls for a moratorium on deep sea mining. Scientists and environmentalists warn that such mining could wreak havoc on the ocean, a crucial carbon sink and home to rare and diverse species. Funded by UNCLOS members and mining contractors, the Authority operates as an autonomous international organization with its own Assembly, Council, and Secretariat. The current secretary-general of the agency is Leticia Carvalho, whose four-year term began on 1 January 2025.
