SPC Geoscience Division

Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority, Mr Nii Allotey Odunton, said that the ISA had been “honoured and delighted,” to hold an International Workshop, in collaboration with the SPC/SOPAC Division of the Pacific Community and the Government of Fiji, on issues relating to the environmental impact assessment of deep seabed mining.

Mr Odunton’s comments, part of his address to the United Nations General Assembly, December 2011, referred to good progress made at the International Workshop in identifying the issues that will need to be addressed in future environmental impact assessments, “including the establishing of a framework so that all stakeholders are aware of what is expected of them.”

During the workshop in Fiji, an integral part of the four-year, EU-funded Deep Seabed Minerals Project, Mr Odunton said that more information about the different species living on the deep seabed is needed.