Deep Sea Minerals – At the 2009 Pacific Island Forum meeting, Leaders agreed a number of key priority areas for progressing the Pacific Plan including: “the development of a regional framework for deep sea minerals that shall be used by Pacific ACP States to formulate national legal instruments for the governance and administration of marine mineral resources”. Under Key Result Area 1 of the SPC-EU EDF10 Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) Project, a Regional Legislative and Regulatory Framework (RLRF) for Deep Sea Minerals Exploration and Exploitation has been developed to ensure (i) environmental protection, (ii) countries are prepared to meaningfully engage in this new industry, and (iii) long term sustainable benefits for the Pacific Islands Region. |