Payment Regime Workshop #2

Background Materials   

The following meeting and workshop products may be helpful for participants interested in learning more about the context for Payment Regime Workshop #2:

Conference Report: Towards Transparency and Best Practices for Deep Seabed Mining. In October 2015, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and RESOLVE convened representatives from industry, academic and civil society communiti es, national governments, and international organizations to discuss a number of foundational issues in the design of a regulatory regime for deep seabed mining (DSM) in the Area. This final report from the event was produced in early 2016.

Working Group Report: Deep Seabed Mining Fiscal Framework. One of the key topics discussed at the October 2015 meeting, related to the second priority deliverable for development of financial modeling within the exploitation code, as reported by the ISA’s Legal and Technical Commission (LTC)[1], was the design of an appropriate payment regime for deep seabed mining in the Area. The conversation at the meeting built upon discussions that took place in relation to the payment regime during the Joint ISA-CIL Workshop on Mineral Exploitation in the Area held in Singapore in June 2015. After the October 2015 conference concluded, a working group developed this report. 

More information about the October 2015 meeting is available on our Toward Transparency and Best Practices for Deep Seabed Mining: An Initial Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Meeting web page.

Workshop Report: Payment Regime Workshop #1. Building on the efforts at and following the October 2015 workshop, RESOLVE, along with other stakeholders, convened the first Payment Regime Workshop at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of San Diego California in May 2016. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to develop the ideas from the Framework document further with a view to sharing a more comprehensive report with the ISA. This final report from the workshop was shared in preparation for the ISA Annual Session in July 2016.

Additional Resources Include:

• International Seabed Authority. 2016. Developing a Regulatory Framework for Mineral Exploitation in the Area – First Working Draft of the Regulations and Standard Contract Terms on Exploitation for Mineral Resources in the Area.

• International Seabed Authority. 2015. Developing a Regulatory Framework for Mineral Exploitation in the Area – A Discussion Paper on the Development and Implementation of a Payment Mechanism in the Area. 

• International Seabed Authority. 2015. Joint ISA-CIL Workshop on Mineral Exploitation in the Area – Briefing Paper. Singapore, June 2015

• International Seabed Authority. 2013. Towards the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Polymetallic Nodule Exploitation in the Area – ISA Technical Study No.11.

 

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[1] ISBA/21/c/16, 33 & Annex III, Priority Deliverable n2: Report of the Chair of the Legal and Technical Commission on the work of the Commission during the twenty-first session of the International Seabed Authority, ISA, July 2015.