ABSTRACT
The Council, elected by the Assembly for four-year terms, acts as the executive organ of the Authority. It consists of 36 members, comprising the four states that are the largest importers or consumers of seabed minerals, the four largest investors in seabed minerals, the four major exporters of seabed minerals, six developing countries representing special interests, and 18 members covering all the geographical regions. International Seabed Authority (ISA) has developed a Marine Scientific Research Action Plan as a framework for its contribution to the 2021–30 UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. ISA manages a training programme for contractors from developing countries. In October 2019 ISA and the Chinese authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for the establishment of the first ISA-People’s Republic of China joint training and research centre. The Authority also maintains a Bibliographic Database and database of seabed patents.
