A seven member Tongan delegation attended the 25^th Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, from 15 – 26 July, to discuss and formulate a seabed mining code and other work of the ISA.

The ISA has a mandate to regulate deep seabed minerals (DSM) activities in the international seabed area, while ensuring protection of the marine environment from any harmful effects which may arise during these activities. Deep seabed mining will not commence worldwide until a comprehensive mining code, expected to be completed at the end of 2020, is agreed upon by the members of the ISA which has 168 members.

At the session, Tonga continued its role as one of the members of the ISA Council for a four year period as from 1 January 2019.

For the first time this year, Tonga presented to the Council a discussion paper on issues related to Small Island Developing States that should be considered in the creation of the financial mechanism which is to be used to share the proceeds of all DSM activities in the area. 

The meeting marked the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Authority and to mark the occasion, Tongan delegates presented gifts of a wooden carving and tapa cloth to the Secretary-General of the Authority, Mr Michael Lodge.

The 26^th Session, to be held next year, will see the Asia-Pacific Group hold the Presidency of the Council. The President of the Council will have the important role of guiding the work of the Council to complete the mining code by the end of 2020. 

Tonga's delegation included:

• Dr T. Suka Mangisi, Tonga’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
• Mr Taaniela Kula, Deputy Secretary for Lands and Natural Resources,
• Mr Siosiua ‘Utoikamanu, Special Advisor,
• Ms Rose Lesley Kautoke, Senior Legal Advisor Attorney General’s Office,
• Ms ‘Ilaisaane Vea, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance,
• Ms ‘Elisiva ‘Akau’ola, Legal Advisor, Attorney General’s Office,
• Ms Cadinia Tonga’onevai, Environment Advisor, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

In a statement they said that as one of the 36 elected members of the Council, Tonga remains aligned to the work of the Authority, and continued its engagement with members, observers, and other stakeholders.

“To ensure the mining code finds the important balance between the need to...conserve and protect the marine environment, and allows for the sustainable use of Tonga's limited mineral resources.”

Tonga has made a commitment to sustainable development through the Tonga Strategic Development Framework II, the SAMOA Pathway, and Sustainable Development Goal 14 (life below water) of the United Nation's 2030 Agenda.

There are 168 members of the Authority todate including the European Union. Tonga became a member state of the Authority upon accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995.

Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith was elected as the President of the Assembly at the session. A Vice President from Nauru was also elected.  President Kamina Johnson Smith stressed that “Oceans and seas assume special significance for the economic stability of Small Island Developing States, such as Jamaica.” She welcomed the increased global focus on ocean related matters and attention to the Sustainable Development Goal 14. The ISA plays a vital role in achievement of the goal.

According to the ISA website [2], no deepsea mineral mining operations have started anywhere in the world. Exploration activities currently undertaken in the seabed area are aimed at gathering necessary information on the location and quality of the minerals of the seabed as well as environmental information. To date, 29 contracts for exploration have been approved by the ISA, involving 22 countries, covering more than 1.3 million square kilometres of the seabed. This represents 0.7 percent of the international deep seabed area and 0.3 percent of the world's oceans.