Antarctic Environmental Protection

When the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty entered into force on 14 January 1998, a new phase commenced for the Antarctic Treaty System. The parties to the Protocol are today confronting issues related to the implementation of a complex international environmental protection regime, both in international and domestic contexts. Several crucial implementation questions need to be solved in order to enhance and make possible the implementation of the Protocol. What would be the consequences for the parties of a possible failure in resolving the pending implementation issues, on what premises can the solutions be based, and what, then, are the options available? This book provides a systematic overview of the implementation issues in sections on jurisdiction, control and enforcement in the Antarctic (Part I), institutional support to the implementation of the Protocol (Part II), normative support to the implementation of the Protocol: an Antarctic liability regime (Part III), relationship with other international instruments and arrangements (Part IV), and, through a series of selected case-studies, issues involved in domestic implementation of the Protocol (Part V). This is a book that will appeal to Antarctic specialists and to all those interested in environmental law and policy.

The Committee for Environmental Protection endorsed this publication on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is the international agreement that establishes the framework for comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment. It is commonly referred to as the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol was negotiated by the parties to the Antarctic Treaty between 1989 and 1991, following the failure to agree on an international regulatory instrument governing mining in Antarctica (the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, or CRAMRA). The adoption of the Madrid Protocol includes an indefinite prohibition on any activity relating to mineral resources, other than scientific research. The Protocol built on a range of environmental provisions agreed at several Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) since the signing of the Treaty including the 1964 Agreed Measures on the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora. It also picked up environmental management elements that had been developed during the CRAMRA negotiations (such as emergency response provisions), as well as previous work of the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on waste management and marine pollution, respectively. The Protocol was opened for signature on 4 October 1991. It entered into force on 14 January 1998. The original 26 nations to sign the Madrid Protocol have now been joined by a further 11 nations.

While environmental protection has been a focus of decision-making under the Antarctic Treaty, the rules adopted did not engender an effective protection regime. This book examines the international politics of environmental protection in the Antarctic. It analyses recent events, including the demise of the Antarctic Minerals Convention and the negotiation of the Madrid Protocol which hold out the hope of much improved protection of the fragile Antarctic environment. This study also considers what political lessons the Antarctic experience might have for broader concerns in international environmental relations.

A major step towards the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment is the adoption of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991. The Protocol entered into force in January 1998 and provides a comprehensive system of obligations and prohibitions addressing most types of activities in the region south of 60 degrees south latitude. However, because of the absence of undisputed sovereignty in Antarctica, the legal protection of the Antarctic environment depends on the collective efforts of the Contracting Parties to the Protocol. Have the Contracting Parties adequately incorporated the key provisions of the Protocol into their domestic legal systems? Will the complex of domestic legal systems of the Contracting Parties adequately ensure a 'comprehensive protection' of the 'natural reserve' of Antarctica, as specified by Article 2 of the Protocol? These questions are the subject of this book.

This is a publication in Russian. There are also English, French and Spanish versions available. The Committee for Environmental Protection endorsed this publication on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is the international agreement that establishes the framework for comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment. It is commonly referred to as the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol was negotiated by the parties to the Antarctic Treaty between 1989 and 1991, following the failure to agree on an international regulatory instrument governing mining in Antarctica (the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, or CRAMRA). The adoption of the Madrid Protocol includes an indefinite prohibition on any activity relating to mineral resources, other than scientific research. The Protocol built on a range of environmental provisions agreed at several Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) since the signing of the Treaty including the 1964 Agreed Measures on the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora. It also picked up environmental management elements that had been developed during the CRAMRA negotiations (such as emergency response provisions), as well as previous work of the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on waste management and marine pollution, respectively. The Protocol was opened for signature on 4 October 1991. It entered into force on 14 January 1998. The original 26 nations to sign the Madrid Protocol have now been joined by a further 11 nations.

With the negotiation of the International Protocol on Environmental Protection in 1991, those nations conducting scientific research programs in Antarctica face new challenges for stewardship of the southern continent and protection of its environment. Science and Stewardship in the Antarctic examines how the implementation of the 1991 agreement in the United States can be done in such a way to ensure the compatibility of scientific and environmental protection goals in this global laboratory. The book also addresses the potential for the new requirements both to benefit and harm research activities in Antarctica.

This volume examines the Antarctic Treaty System as a complex legal regime for managing resource activities in the Antarctic and assesses what innovative legal arrangements might be needed to regulate future political and economic developments there.