The Pew Charitable Trusts sent comments on September 26, 2023, to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), urging it to strengthen and improve regional environmental management plans (REMPs)—the policy tools used to assess, manage and protect regional marine ecosystems from deep-sea mining.
The document describes the lack of clarity on the legal status of REMPs within the ISA’s regulatory framework and suggests options for giving them legal effect. Pew emphasizes the importance of standardizing the process through which REMPs are developed, as well as the need to formalize REMPs in the exploration phase. Pew recommends that the ISA prioritize discussions about REMPs and appropriately reference them in the exploitation regulations.