Biodiversity and Environmental Monitoring
The number of species of flora and fauna, the enormous diversity of genes in these species and the different ecosystems in the ocean are all part of a biologically diverse realm of which we have very little data. This is even more so in the deep oceans where extreme abiotic conditions including enormous pressures, eternal darkness and low ambient temperatures as well as a scarcity of nutrients have led to the evolution of highly adapted life forms in the abyss. These communities form very specialized ecosystems in the deep ocean.
The ISA’s Regulatory and Monitoring Role
The International Seabed Authority has the responsibility to establish international rules, regulations and procedures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from activities in the Area, and to protect and conserve the natural resources of the Area(link) and prevent damage to the flora and fauna (that is, the biodiversity) of the marine environment.
In 2011, the Council of the Authority considered a proposal for an environmental management plan for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone submitted by the Legal and Technical Commission. The plan included the establishment of nine areas of particular environmental interest intended to protect the biodiversity and ecosystem structure and functioning of the Zone from the potential impacts of seabed mining. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was adopted by the Council in 2012.
The ISA currently has an Atlas of Abyssal Megafauna and will continue to update and expand the Atlas of to include Meiofauna and Macrofauna in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone.
Future related works
The products from these workshops are expected to advance the understanding of environmental baselines in the CCZ, to support the environmental management plan (EMP) and to enable the Authority to make periodic assessments of the state of the environment as activities progress. A similar series of workshops are envisaged with respect to polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust deposits in areas where the Authority has entered into exploration contracts.
These workshops bring together contractors and taxonomic experts for different faunal groups to discuss and make recommendations on the varying taxonomic standards applied by contractors. Their reports enable the Authority to assemble biodiversity data collected by the various contractors, to create spatial repositories based on standardized taxonomic classifications, and take informed decisions on environmental management in exploration areas, regional zones with large concentrations of contractors (such as the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone [CCZ]), and subsequent mining areas.
Ongoing work includes the updating and expansion of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone Atlas of Abyssal Megafauna to include Meiofauna and Macrofauna.
Protecting Deep-Sea Biodiversity
To assess potential effects of their activities, contractors have to gather environmental baseline data as exploration activities progress. The collection of biological baseline data, however, requires considerable taxonomic expertise, especially since a large proportion -possibly the majority- of species is still unknown to science.
To ensure taxonomic standards are being met by the contractors in their baseline studies of the biological components in exploration areas, it was decided to convene three taxonomic workshops on the megafauna, macrofauna, and meiofauna in contracted areas. The first taxonomic workshop on megafauna was held at the Marine Research Department of Senckenberg am Meer in Wilhelmshaven, Germany from 10th to 15th June 2013 and focused on megafauna associated with polymetallic nodule (link to workshop documents) deposits in the Area, and in particular in the CCZ.
Useful Links
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Technical Study: No. 10
: Environmental Management Needs for Exploration and Exploitation of Deep Sea Minerals -
Technical Study: No. 9
: Environmental Management of Deep-Sea Chemosynthetic Ecosystems: Justification of and Considerations... -
Technical Study: No. 8
: Fauna of Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crust Seamounts -
Technical Study: No. 7
: Marine Benthic Nematode Molecular Protocol Handbook (Nematode Barcoding) -
Technical Study: No. 5
: Non-Living Resources of the Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles: Speculations on the Impleme... -
Technical Study: No. 3
: Biodiversity, Species Ranges and Gene Flow in the Abyssal Pacific Nodule Province: Predicting and Ma... -
Technical Study: No. 1
: Global non-living resources on the extended continental shelf: Prospects at the year 2000 -
Twenty years ago on 16 November 1994, Kingston was jubilant as it commemorated the entry into for of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("theConvention"), adopted in 1982, and consequently, the inauguration of the International Seabed Authority ("The Authority"), as the country had been chosen almost a quarter century earlier to host this unique institution. The decision concerning the seat of the Authority had been taken by an informal vote during the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea ("the Third Conference").
: Celebrating 20 years -
ISA Technical Study No. 13 : Deep Sea Macrofauna of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone
: Deep Sea Macrofauna of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone -
ISA Technical Study No 14 : Submarine Cables and Deep Seabed Mining. Advancing Common Interests and Addressing UNCLOS "Due Regard" Obligations
: Submarine Cables and Deep Seabed Mining -
ISA Technical Study No.15 : A Study of Key Terms in Article 82 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
: A Study of Key Terms in Article 82 of UNCLOS -
ISA Technical Study No. 16 : Environmental Assessment and Management for Exploitation of Minerals in the Area
: Environmental Assessment and Management for Exploitation of Minerals in the Area
Report of an International Workshop convened by the Griffith University Law School in collaboration with the International Seabed Authority in Queensland, Australia, 23-26 May 2016. -
ISA Technical Study No. 17: Report of an International Workshop convened by the German Environment Agency (UBA), the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), and the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Berlin, Germany, 20-24 March 2017
: Towards an ISA Environmental Management Strategy for the Area -
ISA Technical Study No:18
: EcoDeep-SIP Workshop II
Dialogue on practical utility of EIA technology - Proponent, potential users, administrator and independent organization
JAMSTEC Tokyo Office, Uchisaiwaicho, Tokyo, Japan, 14-15 March 2017,