Three African experts completed their two-month deployment in the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) as part of the National Experts Deployment Programme of the Africa Deep Seabed Resources (ADSR) project on 20 December 2021. Mr. Godwin Dimike and Dr. Samuel Popoola from Nigeria and Mr. Gerald Mwila from Zambia joined the ISA Secretariat between October and December 2021.

Mr. Godwin Dimike, a geologist from the National Boundary Commission of Nigeria, was deployed in the Executive Office of the ISA Secretary-General. He progressed his research on Nigeria's involvement in deep-sea exploration: challenges, setbacks and prospective remedies.

Dr. Samuel Popoola, Principal Research Officer at the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, and Mr. Gerald Mwila, Senior Geologist at the Geological Survey Department of the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development of Zambia, worked with the Office of Environment Management and Mineral Resources of the ISA Secretariat and progressed their respective research on the Application of marine sediments for environmental baseline studies and as a vector to ore deposits and Scientific compilation, synthesis and analysis of data inventory of the areas of particular environmental interest.

“I wish to congratulate these three new experts for their remarkable work and achievements during their time with the ISA Secretariat. The ADSR project is a flagship project for ISA. We are proud to create the enabling conditions for talented researchers and policy specialists from Africa to further develop their expertise in support of Africa’s blue economy,” said ISA Secretary-General, Mr. Michael W. Lodge.

“The ADSR project is a very well conceived and designed project. It is a wonderful initiative because it does not only enable ten experts from Africa to come to the ISA Secretariat to learn about the roles and functions of ISA, but it also provides a unique platform to improve our understanding of the international seabed area,” said Mr. Godwin Dimike.

“I just want to thank ISA, the African Minerals Development Centre and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation for this opportunity and invite them all to continue offering it for other least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States so that they can also tap in,” said Dr. Samuel Popoola.

“As an individual, I had a very nice experience and fun in Jamaica. The bigger picture is that we have learned a lot and are returning it to our respective countries. I believe that this project has offered us so many opportunities that we would not have had before,” said Mr. Gerald Mwila.

A total of ten African experts, including five women, from the different African States, members of ISA and the African Union, have been selected for deployment to the ISA Secretariat for the period 2020-2022. The objective of the National Experts Deployment Program is to strengthen individual expertise in geology or ocean/blue economy policy while contributing to the work of the ISA Secretariat.

This now brings the total number of African experts to have completed their deployment to five. Two experts - Ms. Judith Owusu (Ghana) and Ms. Tini Guitoba (Togo) – have already completed their secondments in 2020.