Highlights for Friday, 19 July 2019
Informal consultations during the morning session
On Friday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) finalized its deliberations, addressing all pending agenda items, including: the report on matters relating to the Enterprise; issues relating to the election of members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC), and the LTC Chair report; and the pattern of meetings for the Council and LTC for 2020.Highlights of the day included:
a lengthy discussion on a draft decision submitted by the African Group and GRULAC aiming to address equitable geographical representation as well as necessary expertise in the election of LTC members;
exchange of opinions on the pros and cons of using remote simultaneous interpretation services for the Assembly and the Council in 2020;
agreement on a decision relating to the reports of the LTC Chair, including the intention to ensure the thorough and timely development of necessary standards and regulations; and
the general cordial atmosphere among the Council members, despite disagreements, which allows cautious optimism regarding the next steps.
Two side events took place at lunchtime: one organized by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), which addressed an environmental impact assessment study performed by JAMSTEC in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone as well as the development of technology to evaluate plume dispersion; and the other hosted by Global Sea Mineral Resources offering an update of its project.For more details on the day’s events and to hear what delegates said in the breezeways, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the 2nd Part of ISA-25. In addition, IISD Reporting Services, has published a summary and analysis from the meeting, which is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera
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A view of the Council from the dais perspective
Wini Broadbelt, the Netherlands
Pavel Kavina, Czech Republic
Ernesto Malda and Anais Vivanco, Mexico
Patrik Schotte, Belgium
Carlos Alberto Michaelsen den Hartog, Brazil
Ingo Narberhaus, Germany, in discussions with Wini Broadbelt, the Netherlands
Pauline Mcharo, Kenya
Luke Tang, Singapore
Lee Hyun Seung, Republic of Korea, consulting with Clement Yow Mulalaps, Federated States of Micronesia
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, conferring with Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh
Liu Feng and Li Lin Lin, China
Luke Roughton, New Zealand, and Gina Guillén Grillo, Costa Rica
Mariusz Orion Jędrysek and Andrzej Przybycin, Poland
Delegates from Germany and the UK discussing during a break.
L-R: Patrik Schotte, Belgium; Nicole Lyas, Australia; and Kenneth Wong, Canada
L-R: Petero Okotai, Cook Islands; Alison Swaddling, the Commonwealth Secretariat; and Josh Mitchell, Cook Islands
L-R: Alexandre Rodríguez, Spain; Megan Jungwiwattanaporn, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Pippa Howard and Lisa Levin, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC)
L-R: Ernesto Malda and Anais Vivanco, Mexico, and Wang Rong, Singapore
L-R: Sarah Jones, UK; Amber Cobley, ISA Secretariat; Adrian Glover, UK; Malcolm Clark, New Zealand; Samantha Smith, Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR); and Becky Hitchin, UK
The Chinese delegation discusses the latest ENB report with Wang Yan (right), ENB
Eleanor Petch and Margaret Purdasy, UK
Hannah Lily, the Commonwealth, and Josh Mitchell, Cook Islands
L-R: John Parianos, Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML); Jennifer Warren, Lockheed Martin Corporation; and Harald Brekke, Norway
L-R: Cristóbal Hernández, Gloria Ramos, Francisco Javier Bernales, Manuel José Fernández, and Roberto Álvarez, Chile
The delegation from the Netherlands
Participants between sessions