ISA Celebrates World Oceans Day 2020 at Global UN Event

This week, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) marked the occasion of World Oceans Day on 8 June at the United Nations virtual event ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean,’ where leading voices from around the globe convened to celebrate the role of the oceans in everyday life and inspire action to protect the ocean and the sustainable use of marine resources.

ISA Secretary-General Mr Michael W. Lodge took part in a panel on ‘The Blue Economy and Private Sector Impact,’ moderated by Scientific American editor Curtis Brainard. In this panel, Mr Lodge highlighted the unique contribution of ISA to advancing the Blue Economy through ocean science and the development of global regulations.

“One of the most significant contributions of ISA to the Blue Economy has been to harness the power of the exploration industry to gather critical scientific knowledge to inform decision-making processes,” said the Secretary-General.

“It is through this research that we will be able to identify the best measures required to protect the marine environment,” he added. “Over the past 30 years, there have been more than 800 research cruises to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone alone, totalling more than 6,000 days at sea.”

Seabed Mining

The Secretary-General highlighted ISA’s second major contribution to the Blue Economy, which is the unique legal system developed through ISA to manage the sustainable development of mineral resources in the international deep seabed area – a truly global regulatory system that applies the highest environmental and operational standards.

“Seabed mining is a new industry, but one that promises great benefits for the world, as well as risks that need to be managed,” he said. “Never before have we had the opportunity to put the regulatory framework in place before a new industry begins, and we are doing this through a collaborative process, with the full participation of stakeholders, and with environmental protection at the centre. I hope that everyone will join us in these efforts to together deliver a Blue Economy that is fair to everyone,” Michael W. Lodge added.

World Oceans Day was first introduced in 1992 to raise awareness of the crucial role that the sea plays as a source of food, oxygen and medicine. It was officially recognized by the UN in 2008 and catalysed action worldwide.

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