Environmental Baselines

A key element of the environmental monitoring programme of the International Seabed Authority is the establishment of environmental baselines. Regulation 28, paragraph 2 of the draft Mining Code states: "The Authority shall also develop procedures and guidelines for the establishment of environmental baselines against which to assess the likely effects on the marine environment of activities in the Area." The actual collection of information for such baseline definition is the responsibility of the contractor. Regulation 28, paragraph 3 of the draft Mining Code states: "...Each contract shall require the contractor.... to establish environmental baselines against which to assess the likely effects of its programme of work on the marine environment and a programme to monitor and report on such effects." To this end, the Workshop heard presentations on exploration techniques and potential mining systems for deepsea polymetallic nodule mining, and the current state of knowledge of the biological, physical and chemical environment in the nodule provinces of the Area, in particular, the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ) of the central Pacific Ocean.