Navigating private-sector contractor participation at the International Seabed Authority

Amid growing interest in deep seabed mining and heightened scrutiny of its governance, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) should establish clear boundaries to manage the participation of for-profit regulated entities (contractors) in its institutional processes. For the ISA to give ‘NGO observer’ status as requested by the private sector contractors would obscure the important distinction between for-profit actors and civil society, deepen contractors' already significant influence, and further expose the ISA to risk of corporate capture.