Balance between Resource Exploitation and Environmental Protection

DDG Mr. MA Xinmin

COMRA Side Event, ISA23rd Session

(August8th,2017, Kingston)

Your Excellencies,

Dear Secretary-General Mr. Michael Lodge,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon!

I am very honored to be invited to this event sponsored by China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA), and to exchange our views on deep sea mining. The topic today is Balance between Resource Exploitation and Environmental Protection, which, in my view, is an issue with practical significance. It has direct implications on the implementation of the notion of Common Heritage of Humankind in reality, and ultimately the achievement of common benefit and welfare of humankind as a whole. At the moment, the International Seabed Authority is actively developing Regulations for Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area, with an aim to provide a complete legal basis for commercial mining in the future. One of the challenges facing us is how to take the protection of marine environment into account in the course of exploiting and utilizing resources in the Area, and to strike a balance and achieve a harmonization between them. In this regard, I would like to share my views in the following four aspects:

Firstly, the Exploitation Regulations should focus on the implementation of the principle of Common Heritage of Humankind, and the achievement of the utmost goal of serving the benefits of humankind as a whole. The exploration and exploitation of resources in the Area are essential to the actualization of the principle of Common Heritage of Humankind, and the most effective means to serve the benefits of humankind as a whole. The Exploitation Regulations should encourage and promote the utilization of resources, while taking environmental protection into full account. Only by taking social, economic and environmental factors into consideration in a comprehensive manner, can we maximize the benefits of humankind as a whole, including those of future generations. It is equally untenable to degrade the environment for the sake of resource exploitation, and to impede resource exploitation in the name of environmental protection.

Secondly, institutional arrangements for the Exploitation Regulations should be based on existing law and practice, and coordinated with relevant new international rules being drafted. On the one hand, lex lata should be given full respect. The Exploitation Regulations should be developed under the legal framework of deep sea mining established by UNCLOS, its Annex III and the1994 Implementing Agreement. They should conform to Articles145 and147 of the UNCLOS, which provides for the obligation of paying reasonable regard to each other in conducting activities in the Area and other activities in the marine environment. Also, they should be in line with the rules enshrined in the three Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration, etc. On the other hand, lex ferenda needs to be taken into consideration. Coordination should be made with undergoing development of a new international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Besides, reference should be made to the valuable experience of regional arrangements and States in respect of mineral resource exploitation, including those acquired in the course of mining on land and in maritime areas within national jurisdiction.

Thirdly, institutional arrangements of the Exploitation Regulations should follow the evolutionary approach and be strengthened and advanced step by step. Since human activities in the Area remain very limited, in terms of extent and scope, our cognizance of the Area is yet to be enhanced. The development of the Exploitation Regulations should answer to the most pressing practical needs. Priority should be given to the establishment of fundamental legal framework and principles. Relevant rules should be developed and improved at a proper time as the exploitation progresses in reality.

Fourthly, environmental rules in the Exploitation Regulations should be tailored and targeted. The first requirement is to objectively assess the risk of damages to the environment in the course of exploitation, with a science-based approach and with substantive evidence, to demonstrate the existence of risks of serious harms. The second requirement is that measures of environmental management should be tailored to fit the actual needs and to adhere to the principles of necessity and proportionality. For each specific resource, the choice of management tools should be made in the light of its characteristics in environmental sense.

Dear Colleagues,

Mining in the Area is a comprehensive project and long-term course involving politics, economy, society, law, technology, and other aspects. Properly addressing the relationship between resource exploitation and environmental protection is of significance for the exploitation of resources in the Area, the actualization of the principle of the Common Heritage of Humankind and the benefits of humankind as a whole. China is willing to work with other parties in strengthening coordination and accumulating consensus, and to join hands with other parties in pushing forward the mining industry in the Area.

Thank you all for your attention.