In 2007, ISA began a new programme of regional sensitization seminars on issues associated with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the work of the Authority and on marine mineral resources.
The aim of the seminars was to bring together experts from the international legal and scientific community with national and regional government officials, cientists, researchers and academics to discuss scientific research on marine minerals and propose mechanisms for improving regional cooperation in scientific research and marine mineral development.
Topics covered at the seminars would include the status of the legal regimes established for recovery of minerals, types of minerals found in the Area, resource evaluation, protection and preservation of marine environment from prospecting, exploration and mining and the Authority’s endowment fund for the promotion and encouragement of marine scientific research in the Area.
The first seminar was held in Manado, Indonesia, the second in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November 2008 and the third in Abuja, Nigeria in March 2009.
