Here is Question No. 36 a part of our series on UPSC Prelims 2021.
Q36. Consider the following statements:
- The Global Ocean Commission grants licenses for seabed exploration and mining in international waters.
- India has received licenses for seabed mineral exploration in international waters.
- ‘Rare earth minerals’ are present on the seafloor in international waters.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (b)
- Statement 1 is incorrect: It is the International Seabed Authority (and Not the Global Ocean Commission) that considers applications for exploration and exploitation of deep-sea resources from contractors, assesses the environmental impact assessments and supervises mining activities. With the establishment of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 and the entry into force of the ISA in 1994, exploration activities for mineral resources in the area began to be regulated under exploration contracts. Originally, exploration activities were predominantly undertaken by national agencies, until 2010, when private companies became involved and a polymetallic-nodule-mining industry was born.
- Statement 2 is correct: India was the first country to receive the status of a ‘Pioneer Investor ‘in 1987 and was given an area of about 1.5 lakh sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration. India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from the seabed in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) have been extended by five years. These rights are over 75000 sq. km of area in international waters allocated by the International Seabed Authority for developmental activities for polymetallic nodules.
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