Navigating the Deep : Legal Regime for the 'Area' and the Future of Ocean Governance

Forty years after the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the establishment of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the legal regime anchoring pivotal mandates and responsibilities in support of the sustainable management of the resources of the seabed beyond national jurisdictions (called the ‘Area’) is facing unprecedented challenges. As global interest in seabed mineral resources intensifies, so do unilateral interpretations of treaty obligations, posing a threat to the foundational principles of UNCLOS and the thin consensus-base supporting it. This book critically examines how diverging expectations pertaining to the management of the Area and its resources, living or not, influence the implementation of UNCLOS’ provisions and intersect with some emerging threats, exploring how such political and operational factors affect the role and mandate of ISA and how convergence amongst key actors could be reached in pursuit of the benefit of the common heritage of humankind.

The legal regime for access to and regulation of seabed exploration and exploitation in the Area, once seen as a pioneering framework for ocean governance, now stands at a crossroads. The growing pressure for resource exploitation, coupled with divergent interpretations of treaty obligations, risks undermining the legal and ethical underpinnings of the sustainable management of the international seabed area. By situating the ISA within contemporary debates on international law and sustainable development, this book offers an authoritative perspective on the regime’s future relevance and resilience.

Dr. Marie Bourrel-McKinnon is an international lawyer and seabed governance architect and policy strategist with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of international law, institutional design, ocean governance, and the geopolitics of mineral resources, including 17 years in multilateral settings and professional engagements across all regions of the world. From 2017 to 2025, she broke new ground as the first woman Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Planning at the International Seabed Authority, advising the Secretary-General and Member States on the regulation of deep-sea activities, institutional reform, and strategic stakeholder engagement within the UN system, while championing women’s empowerment and leadership in ocean affairs.

Her work centers on the strategic architecture and implementation of minerals governance frameworks that are legally robust, science-based, and investment-relevant, spanning deep-sea mining, offshore resources, and the energy transition. She regularly advises governments, international organizations, think tanks and industry on regulatory risk, institutional strategy, and the evolving political economy of critical minerals. She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and book contributions in English and French on foundational and emerging issues in the law of the sea, including ocean governance, environmental protection, benefit sharing, institutional accountability, technology transfer and capacity development, and resource governance.

She holds a PhD in international and environmental law and has completed advanced executive education at Harvard Law School and Tufts University.

Dr. Rahul Sharma retired as Chief Scientist from the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Goa, India with an experience of more than 40 years in the field of exploration and exploitation of deep-sea minerals. He has a master’s degree in Geology and a doctorate in Marine Science. His professional interests include application of exploration and environmental data for marine mining as well as techno-economic evaluation of deep-sea mining.

During his career, he has edited 4 special issues of journals, published 38 scientific papers, authored 27 articles and 41 technical reports, and presented more than 60 papers at national and international conferences. He has also edited books on ‘Deep-sea Mining’ (2017), ‘Environmental issues of deep-sea mining’ (2019), ‘Perspectives on deep-sea mining’ (2022), ‘Deep-sea mining and the water column’ (2024) and ‘Deep-sea mining – management, policy and regulations’ (2025) published by Springer International Publishers that contain 16-23 chapters contributed by experts from around the world.

His international assignments include invited speaker and consultant to the International Seabed Authority, Jamaica, Visiting Scientist to Japan, Visiting Professor to Saudi Arabia, member of the UNIDO mission 'to assess the status of Deep-sea mining technologies' in Europe, USA and Japan. He has contributed to the ‘World Ocean Assessment report I’ of the United Nations and has also been invited to contribute a chapter on ‘Potential impacts of deep-sea mining on marine ecosystem’ for the Oxford Encyclopaedia for environmental science.

In addition to his research career, he has been involved with several activities relating to science communication and outreach, as well as training programs for international participants, professionals and students. Currently he is a freelance consultant, advising international agencies on various aspects of deep-sea mining.