The Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is inviting Members and stakeholders of ISA to nominate experts to participate in the intersessional expert group to develop binding environmental threshold values.

During its 27th session, the Council of ISA decided to progress the development of environmental threshold values (see ISBA/27/C/42) as binding standards as part of the ongoing development of standards and guidelines that support the development of the draft regulations on the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area. The development of these threshold values will be led by the Legal and Technical Commission of ISA and supported by the scientific and technical expertise of an intersessional expert group made up of three sub-groups on the topics of i) toxicity, ii) turbidity and settling of resuspended sediments and iii) underwater noise and light pollution.

The experts shall have recognized competence in understanding and interpreting scientific literature and environmental baseline data, should have access to appropriate proxy and/or experimental data for determining thresholds for deep-sea activities, and required experience with technological and industry applications and their impacts on marine ecosystems, habitats, and species relevant to threshold determination.

The Secretary-General wishes to invite members and stakeholders of ISA to submit their respective nominations of experts accompanied by detailed curricula vitae at their earliest convenience but no later than September 15, 2023, by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (cc: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).