scholarly journals Deep-Seabed Mining May Come Soon, Says Head of Governing Group

Eos ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy Showstack
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Mining ◽  
Technical Challenges ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining

New regulations could open the door for sustainable mining, says the head of the International Seabed Authority. However, he and others pointed to environmental, financial, and technical challenges.

Concluding Remarks on Corporate Entity Involvement in Deep Seabed Mining

2021 ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
The Common ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Marine Environmental

The conclusion addresses the findings reached throughout this study on the role of private corporate actors in the deep seabed mining regime under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the impact of this upon realisation of the common heritage of mankind. It notes that the ISA is facing significant challenges in devising a workable payment mechanism that will deliver tangible benefits to humanity, while also ensuring sufficient marine environmental protections. The regime’s achievement of the common heritage will be dependent on the regulatory regime of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) fulfilling its potential, and implementing a comprehensive Mining Code to govern the life cycle of deep seabed mining operations. The study concludes by finding that, on balance, the regime is developing in a manner that may render it capable of realising its common heritage goals of securing communitarian benefits to humanity, alongside market-focused objectives. It also concludes that corporate participation may assist in achievement of the common heritage, to the extent that it may provide the commercial means for deep seabed mining to commence.

International Investment Protection in Deep Seabed Mining Beyond National Jurisdiction

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 890-929
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resources ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Valuable Metals ◽  
Exploratory Stage ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining

Abstract The deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction comprises almost three-quarters of the entire surface area of our oceans. It boasts an array of mineral resources, including valuable metals and rare earth elements. Acting under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority is responsible for regulating this area and granting mining contracts to allow investors to explore for and exploit deep seabed minerals. As yet, deep seabed mining activities have been confined to the exploratory stage. However, recently, there has been a marked growth in deep seabed investment by private corporate actors. As technology advances and commercial appetite increases, extraction of deep seabed minerals may soon commence. In this context, this article seeks to address crucial legal issues facing pioneers of deep seabed mining. What is the extent of investment protection within the existing regime? And are there dispute resolution options to enforce such protection?

The Deep Seabed beyond National Jurisdiction and the Rise of Mining Activities within it by Non-state Actors

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-67
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Elements ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining ◽  
Technological Analysis

Chapter 2 addresses the importance of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction and charts the rise in mining activities within it, drawing on scientific, geological and technological analysis, where appropriate, to place deep seabed mining in its broader context. In order to do so, Chapter 2 assesses the scope of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction (in contrast to the maritime zones under national jurisdiction, including the continental shelf). The chapter then examines the types of mineral resources that the deep seabed contains (including the potential for rare earth elements). Thereafter, the chapter explores the likely viability of deep seabed mining, both in terms of its impact on the marine environment, and in light of technological challenges and market prospects. Chapter 2 also provides an overview of the current extent of mining activities authorised by the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

Balancing Community and Autonomy – To What Extent Does the Regime Reconcile ISA Regulatory Authority and Investment Protection for Corporate Actors?

2021 ◽  
pp. 235-268
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
International Investment ◽  
International Investment Law ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
Commercial Viability ◽  
The Common ◽  
Corporate Investors ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining

Chapter 7 assesses the extent to which the deep seabed mining regime in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as developed and enforced by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), strikes an appropriate balance between the dual common heritage goals of community and autonomy. Chapter 7 focuses on reconciling the ISA’s right to regulate on behalf of humanity with investment protection rights for deep seabed miners. It considers whether the UNCLOS deep seabed mining regime incorporates protections that are functionally equivalent to international investment law rights, backed by binding dispute resolution options. These are crucial considerations for corporate investors, and may influence the commercial viability of the regime. Chapter 7 then evaluates whether such investment protection rights may be balanced alongside the ISA’s right to regulate concerning the communitarian aspects of the common heritage, thereby achieving an overall balance between community and autonomy within the regime.

Part XI of the Law of the Sea Convention and Third States: Some General Observations

1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Vasciannie
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining ◽  
Near Future

On 30 April 1982, after almost a decade of careful negotiations at the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea, the Law of the Sea Convention was adopted by the positive votes of 130 States. In one of its main sections, Part XI, the Convention sets out a detailed regime for the exploration and exploitation of the deep seabed and its resources and firmly places deep seabed mining under the regulatory control of the International Seabed Authority, to be established in Jamaica. However, as is well known, the United States and certain other Western countries have adopted a negative posture towards various aspects of Part XI and, for this reason, they are unlikely to ratify the 1982 Convention in the near future. Against this background, the question whether the provisions in Part XI may be binding evenvis-à-visnon-parties to the LOSC has assumed considerable importance in contemporary international law.

scholarly journals Strategic Environmental Planning for Deep Seabed Mining in the Area

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Parra O. ◽  
Marcos Quispe P. ◽  
Evelyn Paucara V. ◽  
Oscar Miranda Z. ◽  
Flor de María Gutierrez S.
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Planning ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Strategic Plan ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Effect Assessment ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Seabed Mining

Discussions approximately an environmental control method for deep seabed mining in the Area had been underway for some the years. Both states and scientists have known for such an environmental control method. In 2018, the International Seabed Authority has followed its first 5-year strategic plan, masking all elements of its mandate. This article examines the brand-new strategic plan integrates factors of an environmental control method and what is probably missing. It demonstrates that even as a few overlaps exist, there are numerous key gaps left via way of means of the modern strategic plan which will be stuffed via the way of means of an environmental control method. To operationalize those desires and objectives, development ought to be measurable; thus, objectives are set, reviews are assessed, and suitable responses are awarded. Many control equipment and toots are relevant for accomplishing environmental desires. To date, the ISA has taken into consideration marine spatial making plans in large part across the modern exploration settlement blocks. Other factors of environmental control, which include the necessities for baseline studies, effect assessment, post-effect tracking, and the remedy of dangerous consequences and extreme damage want to be carried out to assist well-described environmental desires and objectives. We advocate that this making plans be done for scales largethan man or woman blocks, through a Strategic Environmental Management Plan, to make certain sustainable use of ocean assets throughout the Area.

scholarly journals No people, no problem – narrativity, conflict, and justice in debates on deep-seabed mining

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Schmidt ◽  
Manuel Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Seabed Mining

Abstract. While the idea of extracting deep-seabed resources dates back to as early as the 1960s, it remained pure fiction for decades due to limited technical possibilities and prohibitive costs. In recent years, against the backdrop of changing technical possibilities and a persistently high demand for raw materials, deep-seabed mining (DSM) has returned to the international political agenda. While numerous fact-finding missions engage in mapping the ocean's resources and public–private partnerships prepare to make an active engagement in mining the seabed, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is entrusted with the development of a legal framework for possible future mining in accordance with the requirements defined under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The preparations for DSM are accompanied and ultimately shaped by a discourse on possible opportunities and risks of mining the deep seabed. The paper at hand traces dominant discursive positions and their narrative structures as a way of explaining the relative success or failure of DSM proponents who speak in favor of mining the seabed and DSM critics who warn against its striking environmental impacts and inestimable risks. We proceed from the observation that the historic discourse on the deep sea beyond national jurisdiction was rooted in what we call “narratives of promise” regarding global procedural and distributive justice, environmental health, and peaceful international cooperation. Our findings show how in today's debates the theme of global marine justice, which dominated the historic DSM discourse, is close to a “nonstory”. DSM is commonly narrated as a merely technocratic and apolitical process that appears to be free of social and environmental conflict. We conclude by arguing that to arrive at more successful critical narratives on DSM will require more pronounced depictions of the negative consequences in particular for humans, exposing the “politics” in DSM policy making and developing more competitive stories on alternatives to DSM.

Common Management through Institutional Architecture – What is the Scope of the UNCLOS Deep Seabed Mining Regime and the Role of the ISA within it?

2021 ◽  
pp. 103-149
Author(s):  
Joanna Dingwall
Keyword(s):  
Effective Control ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
State Sponsorship ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
Regulatory Flexibility ◽  
Institutional Architecture ◽  
Seabed Mining

Chapter 4 evaluates the role of common management in securing a common heritage framework for deep seabed mining beyond national jurisdiction (in the Area). To this end, Chapter 4 assesses the common management system for deep seabed mining within the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS provides a system of common rules applicable to the Area, together with the regulatory flexibility for this system to be developed and enforced, in practice, by a unique, unprecedented form of institutional power, wielded by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The chapter includes analysis of the ISA’s progress towards development of the Mining Code, and the functioning of its contract-based licensing process, in practice. Chapter 4 addresses the means by which corporations may become participants in the regime (through state sponsorship, nationality and effective control requirements) and the extent to which the regime filters down to apply to them directly.

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