This week, at the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica, nations negotiating rules governing deep-sea mining faced a vote that could impact the industry for years: who should be the next leader of the regulatory body?

The election comes at a pivotal moment for deep-sea-mining and for the future of the world’s oceans

Leticia Carvalho is a Brazilian oceanographer and international diplomat. She was elected to replace Michael Lodge -  a British lawyer who had served for as leader for the last two terms

Commercial-scale deep-sea mining has not yet begun anywhere in the world. Some mining companies have pushed for an imminent start of this activity. Lodge has been accused of doing more than he should to help this process along.

So far, the authority has issued 31 exploration contracts in an area covering 1.5m sq km of the world’s seabed. These allow exploration of the seabed but not commercial mining.

Carvalho, compared to Lodge, has been vocal about the need for transparency and scientific rigour around deep-sea mining to ensure decisions are not rushed. 

The ISA now has until 2025 to finalise regulations on whether countries can pursue deep-sea mining in international waters.

Advocates of deep-sea mining say seabed minerals are needed to fulfill metal shortages and provide materials for renewable energy technologies.

Critics say deep-sea minerals are unnecessary to fulfill shortages. They also believe deep-sea mining could irreparably damage the marine environment and lead to unintended consequences

One mining company, Canadian-based The Metals Company (TMC), has repeatedly expressed its intention to apply for an exploitation license later this year. The Metals Company stock is down 38% in the last month at the time of writing

A lack of data on deep-sea ecosystems and their biodiversity makes it hard for us to understand the impacts that deep sea mining would have. New leadership seems to recognise this.

Just last week… a study found that metal-rich rocks found on the seafloor, produced a kind of “dark oxygen”.  Experts say this is a valid reason to slow down commercial extraction of metals.

Many start-ups are focussed on helping us generate more data to better understand our Oceans

Ocean data companies we’ve spoken to have concerns about any form of involvement in Deep Sea Mining. With new ISA leadership there could be increasing demand for their services. For example, to help ensure we fully understand potential consequences of mining activity.

Big business:  Britain's Royal Mint announced it will extract gold from electronic waste such as televisions, laptops and mobiles at a new factory in south Wales, providing a more biodiversity-friendly source of gold and reducing reliance on mining.

Finance: In the UK, The Green Finance Institute has called for reform to Biodiversity Net Gain policies - releasing a paper which identifies and assesses 40 challenges with the current structure.

Finance: A number of African governments are in talks to swap some of their commercial loans for cheaper borrowing linked to food security, nature, health and education, said Citigroup’s sub-Saharan Africa

Amazing earth: When Vultures Nearly Disappeared in India, Half a Million People Died, Too, Study Finds

Policy: Colombian guerrillas withdraw threat to disrupt UN biodiversity summit COP16

Policy: The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has announced further details of its nature workstream, including plans to assess biodiversity within its current sustainability standards.

Policy: The European Commission has submitted the EU’s targets for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework The EU’s submission demonstrates the accomplishments of the European Green Deal. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the comprehensive Nature Restoration Law

Research: A world first project to map Antarctica's plant life has detected almost 45 square kilometres of vegetation - roughly three times the size of the Lake District's Lake Windermere - including growth in previously uncharted areas.

Research:  the World Benchmarking Alliance’s (WBA) new Nature Benchmark suggests only one in 20 businesses have assessed how their operations impact nature. Fewer than one in 100 have assessed their dependencies on nature.

Opinion piece: If we get it right, insetting could unlock a flood of finance for nature

No deal this week but…Silverstrand Capital announced its latest cohort of eight companies it will put through its biodiversity accelerator

09 August - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

26 August - 14th European Conference on Ecological Restoration - Estonia

1 September - The African Bioacoustics Conference - Cape Town

30 September - Nature for Life Hub 2024 - Virtual

8 October - The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024 - Sydney

Oct 24 - Bloom - Colombia

Sustainability Specialist, Nature/Biodiversity @ Aldi (Aurora, US)

Analyst, Climate and Nature Data Analytics @ VF Corporation,(Denver, US)

NBS Expert: Carbon, Forestry, Agriculture @ Total Energies, (Paris, France)

Climate, Nature, and Social Risk Intelligence Lead, Vice President @ JP Morgan (New York, US)

Investment Associate @ Schmidt Family Foundation,  (San Francisco, US)

Investment Director / Manager @ Natural Heritage, (remote, East or Southern Africa)

Senior Project Finance Lead @ Earthshot  (remote/ New York / San Francisco, US)

Senior Software Engineer @ NalaEarth

Chief Science & Policy Officer @ Kanop

Check out Theresa Lieb’s post for even more