A/RES/72/73 Oceans and the law of the sea road map for adoption and approval of such regulations, and encourages the Authority to continue its work on the draft regulations as a matter of priority and to pro vide sufficient opportunities and time for substantive consideration and discussion of successive drafts; 65. Notes that all States Parties to the Convention and other stakeholders are invited to provide input on the draft regulations by 1 7 November 2017, and no later than 31 December 2017; 34 66. Recalls the relevance of the advisory opinion on the responsibilities and obligations of States sponsoring persons and entities with respect to activities in the Area, issued by the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the Tribunal on 1 February 2011; 35 67. Recognizes the importance of the responsibilities entrusted to the Authority by articles 143 and 145 of the Convention, which refer to marine scientific research and protection of the marine environment in the Area, respectively; 68. Welcomes the decision of the Assembly, at the twenty-third session of the Authority, in approving the final report on the first periodic review of the international regime of the Area pursuant to article 154 of the Convention; 36 69. Also welcomes the decision of the Assembly, in the context of the first periodic review of the international regime of the Area pursuant to article 154 of the Convention, to request the Secretary-General of the Authority, in view of the importance of a long-term plan defining the strategic direction and aims of the Authority, to submit a draft strategic plan to the Assembly for consideration at its twenty-fourth session, in 2018, and to regularly inform member States on progress with respect to this plan; 36 70. Encourages the Authority to continue its work towards the standardization of marine bathymetric information collected in the Area, in cooperation with relevant international organizations, including the Intergo vernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Hydrographic Organization, particularly under the Seabed 2030 project; 37 71. Notes that a workshop dedicated to the review of the status of implementation of the environmental management plan for t he Clarion-Clipperton Zone will be held during the first half of 2018, and encourages the Authority to make progress on the development of environmental management plans in other specific areas in the Area, in particular where there are currently explorati on contracts, recalling paragraph 60 of resolution 70/235; 72. Expresses its appreciation to States that have made contributions to the voluntary trust fund established pursuant to the decision of the Author ity at its eighth session 38 for the purpose of defraying the cost of participation of the members of the Legal and Technical Commission from developing countries and the members of the Finance Committee from developing countries in the meetings of the Commi ssion and of the Committee, and to States that have made contributions to the endowment fund for marine scientific research in the Area established by the Authority at its twelfth session, 39 for the purpose of promoting and encouraging the conduct of collaborative marine scientific research in the Area, and encourages States to make additional contributions to these funds; __________________ 34 35 36 37 38 39 16/55 See ISBA/23/C/12. See ISBA/17/A/9. See ISBA/23/A/13. See ISBA/23/A/2. ISBA/8/A/11. ISBA/12/A/11. 17-21819

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