standardization of environmental data and information - International ...

(1) The availability and adequacy of existing environmental data,
(2) The contractors’ schedules of development and
(3) The lead times required for collection of adequate data.
This paper considers these factors in the context of the major
recommendations made in Professor Smith’s background paper (chapter 3
above) and the known environmental characteristics of the ocean areas
that host the exploration claims of contractors. It uses these factors to
suggest priorities and qualitative milestones for data collection.
1.2. Organisation of this paper
This paper is organised as follows:
?? Section 2 briefly summarises the anticipated phases of
development for a deep-seabed mining industry and the possible
links between the contractors’ development schedules and the
development of environmental standards.
?? Section 3 discusses the key environmental variables that must be
assessed for adequate baseline characterisation and impact
prediction.
?? Section 4 suggests a set of priorities for the establishment of
standards and acquisition of data concerning these key
environmental variables, and the required acquisition times for
different types of environmental data.
?? Section 5 summarises the available environmental data for the
Clarion-Clipperton and Indian Ocean regions of interest.
2. Phases of development of deep-seabed mining
operations
No commercial deep-seabed mining operation has been developed
to date, so that description of such activity is speculative. However, a
variety of international groups have undertaken serious development
planning for commercial seabed mining, and several consortia of private
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 98