Fiji’s Ambassador to the United Nations Peter Thomson has called for more funding and human resources for the International Seabed Authority.
Ambassador Thomson is the outgoing President of the Council of the International Seabed Authority.
Speaking at the 22nd Session of the Authority in Jamaica, he said the ISA needs money and the right people to to lift its capacity and its authority in safeguarding the environmental integrity of the planet’s seabed.
Thomson told delegates that this is a current deficiency at the Authority and will remain so until there is a strategic plan.
The Ambassador added that Sustainable Development Goal 14 must be a game changer for the International Seabed Authority.
SDG 14 calls on humanity to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources with targets to prevent marine pollution, protect ecosystems, conserve marine areas and increase scientific knowledge.
In support of the implementation of SDG14, an Oceans Conference, will be hosted by Fiji from the 5th to the 9th of June next year.
