As countries around the world turn their attention to the deep seabed to secure cobalt and rare earth elements―key raw materials for electric vehicles and semiconductors―experts from 15 countries gathered in Busan to seek a balance between resource development and marine environmental protection.
The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST, President Hyi-Seung Lee), in collaboration with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), hosted a workshop on the Regional Environmental Management Plan (REMP) for the Western Pacific, where participants identified key Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs). The agreed draft proposal will be formally finalized following approval by the ISA Council.
The ISA is an international organization established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to oversee and regulate activities in the international seabed area beyond national jurisdiction. It consists of 171 member states and the European Union, and the Republic of Korea joined the organization in 1996 upon ratifying UNCLOS.
The four-day workshop was held at BEXCO in Busan from Monday, May 18 to Thursday, May 21, bringing together around 50 experts from 15 countries, including Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Russia. Since discussions on the Western Pacific REMP began in Qingdao, China, in 2018, this marked the first time the workshop was hosted in Korea.
The REMP serves as an international environmental management framework designed to minimize the environmental impacts of deep-seabed mineral exploration and exploitation while ensuring systematic marine environmental protection. REMPs are being developed for four regions―the Eastern Pacific, Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean―and include measures such as the designation of environmental preservation areas, establishment of environmental standards, and cumulative environmental impact assessments. These plans are expected to serve as key criteria in future ISA approval procedures for deep-sea mining activities.
The Western Pacific, the focus of this workshop, is a region where exploration blocks for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts (CFCs) are concentrated. Korea, Japan, China, and Russia currently hold exploration contracts in the area, drawing significant international interest due to its high development potential.
Since 2022, KIOST has conducted biodiversity surveys and environmental impact assessments at nine seamounts within exploration contract areas in the Western Pacific, accumulating extensive field data. During the workshop, KIOST researchers shared these datasets and provided scientific evidence to support the designation of environmental preservation areas and the establishment of environmental monitoring standards.
President Hyi-Seung Lee of KIOST stated, “Since 2018, discussions on the Western Pacific REMP had struggled for nearly eight years to reach agreement on key issues such as the designation of environmental preservation areas. By leveraging KIOST’s accumulated environmental data and scientific expertise from field research, we were able to help guide the discussions toward practical conclusions during the Busan workshop.”
He added, “Building on 30 years of experience in deep-sea exploration, KIOST will continue contributing to international discussions aimed at achieving a balance between environmental protection and resource development.”
Jose Dallo Moros, Director of the Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources at the ISA Secretariat, said, “A science-based environmental management framework is essential for the sustainable development of deep-seabed resources. Thanks to the active sharing of field experience and scientific data among participating countries during the Busan workshop, we were able to achieve meaningful progress on key agenda items that had long remained unresolved.”
Meanwhile, KIOST is conducting research on deep-seabed resource exploration and environmentally responsible development in exploration contract areas across the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Northeast Pacific. Through these efforts, KIOST has secured a total of five exploration contract areas, encompassing approximately 115,000 square kilometers―an ocean economic territory larger than the land area of the Republic of Korea.
