Impact case study database

Cardiff’s research was instrumental in enabling African states to engage with Deep Seabed Mining (DSM), with Egede central to supporting an African common approach to DSM. This included appointment as a consultant for UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) between 2016 and 2020, and membership of the Group responsible for integrating DSM into the African Union maritime security strategy in 2016.

Kaiser De Souza, Egede’s collaborator at UNECA, confirmed that “Egede’s research findings have created an important shift in African DSM policy, from ignoring the DSM sector in long-term African Ocean Economy Strategies, to developing it as an essential pillar for the first time. This has helped African States to develop strategies to match development in this area with other regions globally” [5.1].

4.1 Mobilising a common international approach to African DSM

De Souza stated that “Egede’s research was the first to highlight to the UN that African Maritime Strategies had not included DSM” [5.1]. He noted that the “research has been essential in rethinking policies towards DSM…in the case of UNECA, it has been vital in revealing the lack of engagement in the region, and in developing our ability to undertake developmental work to better engage African states” [5.1]. Other international organisations have also changed their policy approach to the positive benefit of African nations, for example:

• Funmi Folorunsho, Chairperson of a Maritime Strategy ad hoc expert group for the African Union (AU, a continental body comprising 55 member states) said: “Egede’s research has ensured that there is a greater understanding of the opportunities available through DSM, both for the AU as a governing body and for the individual countries that it represents. This has led, for the first time, to the integration of DSM into the policy approach of the AU” [5.2]

• Michael Lodge, Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – an autonomous body set up by the UN to organise, regulate and control access to the ‘Area’ – stated that the research “served as a ‘go to’ reference book” which “assist[ed] ISA to identify the key critical capacity-building needs of African states” [5.3].

• Mehdi Ramaoun, Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN and Coordinator of the African Group of the ISA, noted that “[Egede’s] research work has been highly influential…to coordinate and develop an African common position” [5.4].

The research also changed the approach of African states towards DSM. As UNECA consultant, Egede co-developed a first-of-their-kind series of workshops for individual states and international bodies [5.1, 5.5]. De Souza described them as “an important step forward in advancing African countries engagement with DSM” [5.1]. The 2017 workshop was attended by over 60 policymakers from 11 African countries (including Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa), as well as NGOs and international organisations (including the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the PEW Charitable Trust (USA), DEME-Group (Belgium), and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The workshop made a number of recommendations reflecting Egede’s research [3.1, 3.2, 3.3] including:

• For African countries to “include environmental sustainable standards in African states’ mining legislation, regulatory frameworks and policies in order to mitigate or minimize the environmental impact in mining activities ” [5.6a, p.41 ];

• For the African Union, the International Seabed Authority and the African Minerals Development Centre (policymakers from all of these attended the workshop) to “work with partner organisations in creating awareness and disseminating information about deep seabed mining activities, technology and development” [5.6a, p.41 ].

De Souza confirmed that the workshop “was successful in its aim of encouraging African states to develop a greater understanding of DSM as a strategic priority and the ways they could engage with the sector, and to start to consider plans they could put in place to achieve this” [5.1].

In 2019, two subsequent workshops (Ghana, January and South Africa, May) brought a total of 93 policy makers together from 20 African countries and eight international organisations including African Minerals Development Centre and Commonwealth Secretariat [5.6b]. This culminated in a fourth focus group led by Egede in 2020, with nine participants from seven key African countries that would be most affected by DSM [5.7, p.31 ]. The main outcome of this workshop was to review and input into Egede’s ‘Roadmap for Development of DSM’, described below.

4.2 Improved individual country capacity to engage with DSM

Egede worked directly with individual African countries including Uganda, South Africa and Ghana to develop their approach to DSM, including being contracted by UNECA to produce the ‘Roadmap for Development of DSM’ [5.7]. This framework, launched in May 2020, outlines seven steps to close what it describes as “glaring gaps” in the African approach to DSM [5.7]. De Souza noted this “key document” is “a huge mark of success, in terms of Egede’s research reshaping debate in the region” [5.1]. It uses Egede’s research [3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5], and recommendations highlighted at the three UNECA workshops, for example:

• Strategic Goal 1 includes establishing a trans-African coordinating body to “harmonise involvement” in DSM, promote technology transfer and capacity building [5.7, p.19 ].

• The Roadmap lays out a framework for how countries can ensure that the environmental impact of DSM is mitigated or minimized [5.7, p.14-16 ].

With Ghana and South Africa, Egede is working on supporting their implementation of the Roadmap. Engaging with DSM is particularly important for Ghana as one of the world’s leading exporters of manganese, which will likely see price fluctuations in the future as DSM provides an alternative source.

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For example, Egede’s research is referenced in the 2019 training outline for African states, to make the case for the need to train African countries in this area [5.9, p.4 ].

4.3 Integrating DSM into the African Union Charter of Maritime Security, Safety and Development

Cardiff’s research also changed the maritime security policy of the African Union (AU). The 2016 Charter of Maritime Security, Safety and Development, also known as the Lomé Charter, is an implementation tool of the AU’s African Integrated Maritime Strategy which coordinates and legally binds the approach of all 55 member states on maritime development and activities.

Egede, as the only academic with DSM experience, drafted Annexes to the Charter in 2017. Funmi Folorunsho, appointed Chairperson of the ad hoc expert group by the AU, noted, “The Charter had already been agreed…but Egede’s research findings highlighted that this [DSM] was an important area that we had thus far not developed an approach towards” [5.2] and that *“the DSM provisions of the Annexes particularly addresses Egede’s research” [5.2]**. It requires African states to:

• “Individually, bilaterally, or in cooperation at the regional or continental level, undertake to sponsor entities to engage in deep seabed mining in the Deep Seabed Area” [5.2];

• “Ensure entities sponsored by the States Party carry out mining activities in accordance with the State Party's obligations under international law with respect to the protection of the environment” [5.2];

• “Cooperate to strengthen their capacity to engage in deep seabed mining ” [5.10].

The Annexes were subsequently validated in an AU workshop for a wide range of stakeholders from all sectors, including practitioners, academia, and the private sector. They are currently being examined by member States prior to adoption by the AU Assembly and, in line with the rest of the Charter. Folorunsho states: “This will create a legally binding approach towards engaging with DSM” [5.2].

Folorunsho continued: “Without Egede’s research, and the influence his findings have had on policies and approaches, the integration of DSM into the African region’s (and particularly AU’s) policies would not have been possible. His role has been really important in this first key step towards the end goal of an African nation (or group) sponsoring an entity…to engage with deep seabed mining.” [5.2]

Prior to Egede’s work, Africa was the only regional grouping in the world which had not engaged with DSM as an integral future source of mineral resources. Through Egede’s role as UNECA consultant, Cardiff research raised awareness of the political, strategic and socioeconomic importance of DSM for Africa and led to the development of an international common approach to DSM in Africa. This includes the integration of DSM into African Union maritime policy. The development and publication of the ‘Roadmap for Development of DSM’, and work with individual countries including Ghana, also improved the capacity of individual countries to engage with DSM for the first time. Folorunsho notes that Cardiff’s research “supported African countries to keep pace with the rest of the world in terms of their engagement with and exploration of the DSM sector” [5.2].