The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has postponed all activities for the rest of 2020, under the Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the international seabed area, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consequently, no new applications will be reviewed during 2020, ISA said.
During this time, ISA will review the functioning of the Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the Area.
“ISA is committed to improving the delivery and implementation of its capacity development programmes and initiatives to meet the needs and priorities of developing States, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Land-Locked Developed Countries (LLDCs),” said ISA secretary-general Michael W. Lodge .
“In the last decade, over 308 trainees have benefited from ISA capacity-building programmes including the Endowment Fund, Contractor Training Programme and the ISA internship programme,” he added.