Mr Secretary-General,
Delegates from other SADC Member States and Missions
Seminar Presenters,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Colleagues,
It is indeed an honour for me, on behalf of the Minister of Mineral Resources, the
Honourable Advocate N. A. Ramatlhodi, to welcome you all to South Africa and
especially to this seminar for SADC Member States on the work of the International
Seabed Authority. We are delighted to host this seminar in partnership with the
Authority.
South Africa is privileged to play a part in assisting the Authority in its outreach and
informing relevant stakeholders of its crucial mandate and important work in
strengthening the multilateral processes for the governance of the world’s oceans. We
are delighted to welcome participants from a wide range of disciplines and institutions,
with a healthy balance of government officials, industry and civil society.
Mr Secretary-General, we sincerely appreciate your work and that of your staff to make
this seminar a reality for all of us here today, and welcome you to South Africa as a
distinguished son of the African soil. Please also allow me to acknowledge the presence
of the former Secretary-General of the Authority, Ambassador Satya Nandan, who
provided such distinguished leadership to the Authority from 1996 to 2009.
As we celebrate South Africa’s 20 Years of Freedom, this seminar also allows us to
celebrate the 20 years of diligent and creative work of the Authority, since its official
inauguration on 16 November 1994, to enable its Member States to regulate mineral
exploration and exploitation of the international deep seabed (“the Area”) and
conducting and promoting relevant marine research.
The importance of this seminar is highlighted by the following quote from the UN
Secretary-General, His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, during the 20th Anniversary of the
establishment of the Authority: “….. the concept of the common heritage of mankind,
represented by the seabed, ocean floor and its subsoil, beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction, was a major innovation in international law. It replaced uncertainties
concerning the future of the seabed with a regime of shared benefits and responsibilities
for all States, including land-locked ones. Today, at a time when ocean-based economic
development is at the top of many Governments’ agendas, we understand better than
ever the far-reaching implications as well as the benefits of the regime contained in the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”
Recognizing the economic and technological imbalance between developed and
developing countries, UNCLOS, and especially its Part XI, places emphasis on the
equitable sharing of benefits derived from the minerals of the Area.
As you may recall, in promulgating UN General Assembly Resolution 2749 of 1970, on
the “Declaration of Principles Governing the Seabed and Ocean Floor”, States
recognized that the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction should be preserved for
peaceful purposes and is the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM). This customary
norm is restated in Articles 136 and 137 of the UNCLOS. There are certain core
components of the CHM principle which are recognized in customary international law:
No State may validly subject any part of the CHM to its sovereignty.
The CHM shall be preserved for peaceful purposes, and for the benefit of future
generations.
As such, the management of the CHM is a collective responsibility which must be
for the benefit of all nations.
The CHM principle therefore provides for conservation and environmental protection as
well as exploitation linked to benefit-sharing (monetary and non-monetary).
The sharing of information and scientific data as well as the transfer of knowledge
through, inter alia, training programmes and other capacity building measures as
provided for in articles 242 and 244 of UNCLOS are a form of benefit-sharing. The
regime governing the outer-continental shelf may also assist in defining possible options
for a benefit-sharing regime linked to produce development of scientific research based
on sampling activities in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
Throughout the 20 years of its existence, the Member States of the Authority have, as a
collective, gained significant scientific and technological insight into the value of the
seas and oceans and their resources to our existence and well-being. The deep sea
has always fascinated humankind as the most remote and enigmatic habitat on earth.
Much of the seafloor and its habitats remain unexplored and unmapped. Understanding
the functioning and role of the deep ocean as a crucial part of our natural habitat in the
past, present and future is imperative for our society. We look forward to hearing from
some of our presenters about the results and application of the latest research on the
remote bio-, hydro- and geospheres that are so important for life on Earth.
About 90% of all known species live in the oceans and seas, but within this environment
the seabed contains the highest biodiversity on the planet with about 98% of all marine
species. Many of these species are highly specialised, some are very long lived, and we
are not yet at the point where we understand all of these ecosystems in detail. These
areas are now under varying degrees of pressure due to bottom trawling, hydrocarbon
extraction, deep-sea mining and bioprospecting.
The international deep seabed area consists of around 260 million square kilometres,
compared to approximately 85 million square kilometres comprising exclusive economic
zones). With under 0,5 % of international ocean areas fully protected at present, despite
the Aichi Target 11 of 2010 (under the Convention on Biodiversity for 10% of marine
biodiversity to be protected by 2020, the Authority fulfils a crucial role in international
oceans governance and marine conservation through its work to establish international
rules, regulations and procedures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine
environment from activities in the deep seabed area.
A move towards more sustained economic growth using the deep seabed requires the
expansion and integration of marine research across borders and among all
stakeholders. Sharing of knowledge, pooling of existing research and new technology
development are essential for developing, strengthening and implementing deep-sea
research. We hope that this seminar will be an important contribution in achieving this
objective, and ultimately to assist us in maintaining a balance between environmental
protection and sustainable use of ocean resources.
The marine environment is particularly important to Africa and its people. As the second
biggest continent, Africa’s total length of coastline, including its islands, is over 26 000
nautical miles. Thirty-eight (38) African countries are either coastal or island states. The
development agenda of the African Union (AU) promotes, among other things, human
capital development and an improved standard of living. It is inclusive and based on a
human-centred approach to development where all social groups are engaged. The
agenda sees an Africa using its own resources to take its rightful place in a multi-polar,
inter-reliant and more equitable world.
African countries therefore need to take up their rightful place, not only in the work of
the Authority, but also in sharing the potential benefits of mineral exploitation in the
international seabed, as well as in relevant marine research projects and results. It is
also important to be fully aware of the opportunities for capacity building and technology
transfer provided by contractors as part of their obligations for mineral exploration in the
international deep seabed, as well as by the Authority’s Endowment Fund for Marine
Scientific Research.
The expiry of the first pioneer exploration licences in early 2016 makes the development
of the proposed Mining Code particularly urgent. Expiry of these licences may mark the
start of actual deep seabed mining, which has the potential to cause real and
irreversible damage to the marine environment. In this regard, the Authority has a
crucial role to play to ensure a precautionary approach and full adherence to all the
relevant provisions under UNCLOS by all role players.
However, the world demand for minerals continues to increase and some terrestrial
resources are becoming depleted. In addition, deep seabed resources often contain a
higher concentration of valuable minerals than their terrestrial alternatives. Furthermore,
many of the metals contained in seabed deposits are considered “technology metals”
and are increasingly required by high-technology industries, including electronics and
clean technologies, such as hybrid cars and wind turbines and, as opposed to the
generally well-studied deposits on the land, many of the resources at the bottom of the
sea are yet to be discovered.
In closing, this seminar presents us with the opportunity to deliberate and make
recommendations on the following issues, among other:
Ways and means for the countries of the SADC region and the various
stakeholders to become more involved in the work of the International Seabed
Authority in regulating deep seabed mineral exploration and exploitation; and
promoting and conducting marine scientific research;
Opportunities and challenges for policy makers, civil society and the mining
industry in the exploration and exploitation of deep seabed mineral resources;
Opportunities for collaborative research in deep seabed environmental and
mineral resources aspects, including capacity building, technology transfer and
training provided to nationals from our respective countries, also through the
Authority’s Endowment Fund; and
Contributions from the work of the Authority and its Member States to the
protecting and preservation of the marine environment in the international
seabed and to oceans governance in general.
I wish you all fruitful deliberations; and to our international visitors - feel free to stay on a
few more days and enjoy what South Africa has to offer.
Thank you
