Routledge Handbook of Seabed Mining and the Law of the Sea

For years, exploration of seabed natural resources has been ongoing while exploitation in deep marine areas remained unrealistic due to land-based mineral availability and costs. However, mounting pressures from the green transition, climate change, and long-lasting fears of terrestrial minerals scarcity now bring exploitation prospects closer to reality. This has caused concern to a growing chorus of States, scientists, industries, NGOs, and parts of civil society due to the potential environmental and social impacts of these activities. As a result, the idea of a moratorium or ‘precautionary pause’ is gaining ground. Yet, an important number of interpretation and implementation issues of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement remain to be answered as a means to move forward in accordance with international law. This multidisciplinary book, designed to become the essential handbook on the matter, provides a global overview of the national, regional, and international regulatory frameworks applicable to the exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals on the continental shelf and the Area, as well as the related state of the science on the matter. By presenting historical and geopolitical context crucial to understanding regulation evolution, the book equips readers with foundational legal and policy knowledge. It furthermore addresses contemporary and prospective issues and offers unique insights into regional and national practices, including non-Party States to UNCLOS. Chapters I.3, IV.1 and VI.1.4 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:
In Memoriam Virginie Tassin Campanella together with friends and colleagues of Robert Introduction Virginie Tassin Campanella Global perspectives I.1 The scientific challenges of deep-sea mining Walter Roest, Malcom Clark and Harald Brekke I.2 The common heritage of mankind under international law: an overview Nilufer Oral I.3 Implementing the precautionary approach for seabed mining: a review of State practice Robert Makgill, Aline Jaeckel and Keith MacMaster State Party rights, obligations and responsibility II.1 State rights and obligations of States on the continental shelf and the Area Virginie Tassin Campanella, Yacouba Cissé and Dire Tladi II.2 State responsibility for deep seabed mining obligations Cymie Payne The continental shelf III.1 The extension of sovereign rights beyond 200 nautical miles Øystein Jensen and Bjarni Mar Magnussen III.2 The Article 82 conundrum: implementing payment for the exploitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles Clive Schofield and Joanna Mossop The Area IV.1 The Area and the role of the International Seabed Authority Aline Jaeckel IV.2 The common heritage quandary: devising a global payment regime for exploitation activities in the deep seabed Area Joanna Dingwall IV.3 Upcoming challenges for the International Seabed Authority Frida Armas Pfirter DISPUTE SETTLEMENT V.1 Dispute settlement and seabed mining in the Area Tullio Treves V.2 Dispute settlement and rights of participation in deep seabed mining disputes James Harrison and Alberto Pecoraro V.3 Mining the bottom of the sea: potential future disputes and the role of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Monica Feria-Tinta and Maurice Kamga Regional and national practice VII.1 Regional practice VI.1.1 Africa and seabed mining Edwin Egede VI.1.2 Antarctica and seabed mining Leopoldo Godio VI.1.3 Arctic and seabed mining Kristine Dalaker Kraabel and Hilde Woker VI.1.4 The European Union and seabed mining Pradeep Singh, Virginie Tassin Campanella, Frank Maes VI.1.5 The Pacific Islands region and seabed mining Cameron Diver VI.1.6 South American region and seabed mining Eduardo Jimenez Pineda VI.1.7 Southeast Asia and seabed mining Tara Davenport VI.2 National practice VI.2.1 Brazil and seabed mining Carina Costa de Oliveira and Ana Flavia Barros Platiau VI.2.2. Belgium and seabed mining Klaas Willaert and Frank Maes VI.2.3 Colombia and seabed mining Esteban Restrepo Uribe VI.2.4 Germany and seabed mining Nele Matz-Lück VI.2.5 Guyana and seabed mining Buba Bojang and Donnette Streete VI.2.6 Iceland and seabed mining Bjarni Mar Magnussen VI.2.7 India and seabed mining Ipshita Chaturvedi Sadhale VI.2.8 Ivory Coast and seabed mining Yacouba Cisse VI.2.9 Korea and seabed mining Hyun Jung Kim VI.2.10 Mauritius and seabed mining Edwin Egede VI.2.11 Mozambique and seabed mining Estevao Stefane Mahanjane VI.2.12 Portugal and seabed mining Mariana Neves and Pedro Madureira VI.2.13 New Zealand and seabed mining Robert Makgill and Elizabeth Macpherson VI.2.14 The United Kingdom and seabed mining James Harrison