International Seabed Authority (ISA) to have new female Secretary General

Brazilian Leticia Carvalho has been elected Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN-mandated agency that regulates seabed mining.

Leticia Carvalho from Brazil (center), ISA Secretary General-elect, is congratulated by an ISA delegate on August 2. (Source: Benar News)

Specifically, Ms. Carvalho will replace Mr. Michael Lodge as ISA Secretary General for a four-year term, starting in 2025.

Michael Lodge has served two terms as ISA Secretary General. The election of a new leader for the ISA comes amid mounting pressure on the agency to halt deep-sea mining for use in the energy transition.

Ms Carvalho, who previously worked for Brazil's oil regulator, was elected to lead the ISA with the hope of leading to a change in approach at the agency.

In an interview with The Guardian (UK) last month, Ms. Carvalho said it would take a long time to complete regulations governing deep-sea mining activities and that the management agency should not grant any mining permits before completing the regulations.

Last week, the ISA’s 36-member council met in Kingston, Jamaica, to draft a mining code to govern and regulate the exploration and exploitation of minerals on the ocean floor, but such a code of conduct is not expected to be completed until next year at the earliest.

According to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a group of non-governmental organizations opposed to deep sea mining, as many as 32 countries have called for a moratorium on deep sea mining activities until there is the necessary scientific evidence to underpin a strong regulatory framework to protect ocean ecosystems from the risk of damage caused by these activities.

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