Oceans and the law of the sea A/RES/70/235 57. Recalls the relevance of the advisory opinion on the responsibilities and obligations of States sponsoring persons and entities with res pect to activities in the Area, issued by the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the Tribunal on 1 February 2011; 31 58. 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; 59. Notes the decision of the Assembly of the Authority to undertake, pursuant to article 154 of the Convention, a general and systematic review of the manner in which the international regime of the Area has operated in practice, and also notes that an interim report on the progress of the review will be submitted to the Assembly of the Authority at its twenty-second session, while the final report, together with any recommendations designed to improve the operation of the regime, is to be submitted to the Assembly at its twenty -third session; 32 60. Recalls that the environmental management plan for the ClarionClipperton Zone, including the designation, on a provision al basis, of a network of areas of particular environmental interest, was approved in 2012, to be implemented over an initial three-year period so that it may be improved as more scientific, technical and environmental baseline and resource assessment data become available and that, for that purpose, the conduct of marine scientific research in those areas and the supply of available results to the Authority was encouraged, 33 in this regard welcomes the request by the Council of the Authority that a workshop be held before the twenty-second session of the Authority to review the implementation of the plan, and notes with appreciation that the Council encouraged the Legal and Technical Commission and the secretariat of the Authority to make progress on the development of environmental management plans in other international seabed area zones, in particular where there are currently contracts for exploration; 30 61. Expresses its appreciation to States that have made contributions to the voluntary trust fund established pursuant to the decision of the Authority at its eighth session 34 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 Commission and of the Committee, 35 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, 36 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; 35 62. Recognizes the ongoing efforts of the Authority to promote its work, and notes in this regard the workshop on mineral exploitation in the Area, held in Singapore, on 16 and 17 June 2015; _______________ 31 See ISBA/17/A/9. ISBA/21/A/9. 33 See ISBA/18/C/22. 34 ISBA/8/A/11. 35 See ISBA/21/A/2. 36 ISBA/12/A/11. 32 15/53