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The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is hosting a five-day Deep-sea Macrofauna Taxonomy School from 7 to 11 September 2026.
It is organised under the Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative (SSKI) platform of the International Seabed Authority, with IORA and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK) as collaborators.
ISA Secretary-General Ms Leticia Carvalho was Chief Guest; about 30 early-career researchers from 13 Indian Ocean Rim countries are being trained.
The curriculum covers benthic sample collection, traditional taxonomy, DNA barcoding, Scanning Electron Microscopy and open-access biodiversity data publishing.
Autonomous international organisation through which states parties to UNCLOS organise and control all mineral-related activity in the Area - the seabed beyond national jurisdiction - and protect the marine environment from harm arising from it
Surveys and assesses India's marine living resources, coordinates the Marine Living Resources Programme and runs research aboard the Fishery and Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar Sampada
Regional grouping for economic and maritime cooperation among Indian Ocean rim states; a partner in this SSKI programme
The constitution for the oceans; it entered into force on 16 November 1994 and created the ISA. Part XI governs the Area - the seabed and subsoil beyond national jurisdiction - which it declares the common heritage of mankind.
Modified the deep-seabed mining regime of Part XI and, with UNCLOS, is the legal basis on which the ISA was established and issues exploration contracts.
India became the first country granted pioneer investor status in 1987 and holds exclusive rights over 75,000 sq km of the Central Indian Ocean Basin for polymetallic nodule exploration; the contract was extended for five years at the ISA's 23rd session at Kingston in August 2017.
ISA platform launched in June 2022 to build a global collaborative effort on deep-sea biodiversity research, standardise assessment methodology and strengthen taxonomic capacity in member states
Key: Aims to describe over a thousand new species from areas of the seabed being explored for minerals; the Kochi school is its capacity-building arm for the Indian Ocean region
Ministry of Earth Sciences Central Sector Scheme approved in 2021 to study deep-sea resources, minerals and marine biodiversity up to 6,000 metres
Key: Estimated outlay of about Rs 4,077 crore over five years; its biodiversity work was presented at the Kochi school by NIOT, which also develops the Matsya-6000 manned submersible under the Samudrayaan project
Exploration of manganese-nodule deposits in the ISA-allotted Indian area of the deep seabed
Key: Resource potential estimated at 380 million tonnes of nodules, carrying nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese - the reason deep-sea taxonomy matters, since environmental baselines must precede any mining
GS Paper 3 > Environment > Conservation and Marine Biodiversity; GS Paper 2 > Important International Institutions
General Awareness > International Organisations
Consider the following statements: 1. The Global Ocean Commission grants licences for seabed exploration and mining in international waters. 2. India has received licences for seabed mineral exploration in international waters. 3. 'Rare earth minerals' are present on seafloor in international waters. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: 2 and 3 only
The seabed and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, declared the common heritage of mankind under Part XI of UNCLOS and administered by the ISA
Bottom-dwelling seabed organisms; macrofauna are those retained on a standard sieve and are the usual indicator group for deep-sea biodiversity assessment
Potato-sized seabed concretions rich in manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt; India holds an ISA exploration contract for them in the Central Indian Ocean Basin