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<p>The National Environmental Research Council has conducted a scientific expedition
in 2015 to look at biodiversity in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This work was part
of the Managing Impacts of Deep Sea Resource Exploitation project. In 2012 Defra approved
a plan of work by Lockheed Martin to look at the environmental aspects of manganese
nodule commercial recovery from the deep seabed surface in the Clarion Clipperton
Zone, Equatorial Pacific Ocean.</p><p> </p><p>The International Seabed Authority does
not carry out environmental impact assessments but does decide on the quality of Environmental
Impact Statements (EIS) provided by external contractors and does provide guidance
on what an EIS should cover. The UK government is committed to ensuring that exploiting
deep sea mineral resources is only undertaken to the highest environmental standard
and nominated Dr Gordon Patterson of the National History Museum as one of the members
of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) of the International Seabed Authority.
The LTC reviews the plans of work adopted under exploration contracts and the performance
of contractors against those agreed plans of work. By nominating a world leading expert
we are helping to ensure that the work of the ISA is assessed by the highest quality
independent scientific advisers.</p>
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