The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, that was established to organize and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans. It is an autonomous organization having a relationship agreement with the United Nations. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

The Authority, in existence since 1994, was established and its tasks were defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as refined by the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI (seabed provisions) of the Convention. The Convention defines this deep seabed area and its resources as “the common heritage of mankind”. The Authority has 155 member states, its membership consisting of all parties to the Law of the Sea Convention. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Opened for signature December 10, 1982 in Montego Bay (Jamaica) Entered into force November 16, 1994[1] Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 149[2] For maritime law in general see Admiralty law. ... United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Opened for signature December 10, 1982 in Montego Bay (Jamaica) Entered into force November 16, 1994[1] Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 149[2] For maritime law in general see Admiralty law. ...

Two principal organs establish the policies and govern the work of the Authority: the Assembly, in which all members are represented, and a 36-member Council elected by the Assembly. Council members are chosen according to a formula designed to ensure equitable representation of countries from various groups, including those engaged in seabed mineral exploration and the land-based producers of minerals found on the seabed. The Authority holds one annual session, usually of two weeks' duration. Its thirteenth session was held in Kingston in July 2007.

The Authority operates by contracting with private and public corporations and other entities authorizing them to explore, and eventually exploit, specified areas on the deep seabed for mineral resources. The Convention also established a body called the Enterprise which is to serve as the Authority’s own mining operator, but no concrete steps have been taken to bring this into being.

The exploration system envisaged in the Law of the Sea Convention, overseen by the Authority, came to life with the signature in 2001/02 of 15-year contracts with seven organizations that had applied for specific seabed areas in which they were authorized to explore for polymetallic nodules. In 2006 a German entity was added to the list.

The eight contractors are: Yuzhmorgeologya (Russian Federation); Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) (Bulgaria, Cuba, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Russian Federation); the Government of the Republic of Korea; China Ocean Minerals Research and Development Association (COMRA) (China); Deep Ocean Resources Development Company (DORD) (Japan); Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer (IFREMER) (France); the Government of India, and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany. Each contractor is required to report once a year on its activities in its assigned area.

All but one of the areas of exploration are in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, in the Equatorial North Pacific Ocean south and southeast of Hawaii. The remaining area, being explored by India, is in the Central Indian Basin of the Indian Ocean. Each area is limited to 150,000 square kilometers, of which half is to be relinquished to the Authority after eight years.

The Authority’s sole legislative accomplishment to date has been the adoption in 2000 of regulations governing exploration for polymetallic nodules. These resources, also called manganese nodules, contain varying amounts of manganese, cobalt, copper and nickel. They occur as potato-sized lumps scattered about on the surface of the ocean floor, mainly in the central Pacific Ocean but with some deposits in the Indian Ocean. During the first half of 2001, the Authority signed exploration contracts with seven entities, giving them exclusive rights to explore for nodules in specific areas, under terms spelled out in the regulations. These contractors submitted their first set of annual reports to the Authority in 2002; none indicated any serious interest in commercial exploitation. Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 54. ... wikipedia sucks big balls For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nickel, Ni, 28 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 4, d Appearance lustrous, metallic and silvery with a gold tinge Standard atomic weight 58. ...

The Council of the Authority began work in August 2002 on another set of regulations, covering polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts--rich sources of such minerals as copper, iron, zinc, silver and gold, as well as cobalt. The sulphides are found around volcanic hot springs, especially in the western Pacific Ocean, while the crusts occur on oceanic ridges and elsewhere at several locations around the world. The Council decided in 2006 to prepare separate sets of regulations for sulphides and for crusts, with priority given to sulphides. It completed a provisional first reading of the sulphides text in July 2007 and agreed to continue this task in 2008. Primarily used in chemistry or mining, polymetal or polymetallic refers to a substance comprised of a combination of different metals. ...

In addition to its legislative work, the Authority organizes annual workshops on various aspects of seabed exploration, with emphasis on measures to protect the marine environment from any harmful consequences. It disseminates the results of these meetings through publications.

The Authority has a budget of $5.8 million a year and a staff of some 40 people. The first Secretary-General of the Authority is Satya Nandan of Fiji, now serving his third four-year term since his initial election in 1996. Satya Nandan is the current Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, a postition he has held since March 1996. ...

Contrary to early hopes that seabed mining would generate extensive revenues for both the exploiting countries and the Authority, no technology has been developed for gathering deep-sea minerals at costs that can compete with land-based mines. The general consensus is that economic mining of the ocean depths is decades away. In addition, the United States, with some of the most advanced ocean technology in the world, has not yet ratified the Law of the Sea Convention and is thus not a member of the Authority.

External links

• International Seabed Authority
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)