For Leticia Carvalho, change is needed at the International Seabed Authority, the regulator of deep-sea mining in international waters. Carvalho, 50, a Brazilian oceanographer and international civil servant for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is running for the position of secretary-general of the ISA, a U.N.-mandated body charged with overseeing activities related to seabed minerals while also ensuring the protection of the marine environment. The ISA, headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, is made up of 168 member states and the European Union, and consists of five main organs: the assembly, council, secretariat, legal and technical commission, and finance committee. The upcoming election will take place among delegates at the assembly meeting between July 29 and Aug. 2, 2024. It comes at a pivotal moment for deep-sea mining, with upcoming decisions holding the power to chart the course for the potential industry. Deep-sea mining has not yet started anywhere in the world. The ISA is working to finish a set of rules, regulations and procedures for how mining can proceed, known as the mining code. In July 2023, ISA delegates set a rough deadline to finish the mining code in 2025, although some observers say they don’t believe this timeline is feasible. In the meantime, Canadian firm The Metals Company has expressed its intent to apply for an exploitation license later this year, which would allow the company to begin extracting seabed minerals for commercial purposes in the near future — possibly before the mining code is complete. Critics say if…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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