ANTARCTICAFACTS – ENVIRONMENT – TOURISM – RESOURCES –

TREATY

FACTS

• Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole.

• It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.

• At 14.0 million square kilometres, it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.

• For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia.

• About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 kilometres in thickness.

FACTS

• Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents.

• Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200mm along the coast.

• The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89°C.

• There are no permanent human residents, but up to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent.

• Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, and certain animals, such as penguins, seals and bears.

• Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra.

• Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 m, is located in Ellsworth Mountains.

• Antarctica contains many other mountains, on both the main continent and the surrounding islands.

• Mount Erebus on Ross Island is the world's southernmost active volcano.

• Another well-known volcano is found on Deception Island, which is famous for a giant eruption in 1970.

ANTARCTICA AS A RESOURCE

Antarctica may be viewed as a resource. It is important as a region of:• Wilderness• A store of fresh

water• A world weather

pattern• The only continent

where mineral resources have yet to be exploited

• Home to many species of birds and marine life

THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF ANTARCTICA• The actual economic

value of the Antarctic resource is difficult to estimate.

• As only 1% of Antarctica is ice-free, this ice-free region is the only part explored for deposits of minerals.

• The ice-free regions of Antarctica are located around the coast.

• The map of Antarctica shows the distribution of these ice free zones.

TOURISM IN ANTARCTICA • Flights are still not very popular but the trend for both sea and air-based tourism is showing a significant increase over time.

• The cost of trips to Antarctica is very high.

• A 14 day voyage may cost over US$15,000 and a flight from US$900.

• The fact that they go at all is quite controversial. The environment is easily damaged. To provide facilities for tourists issues, such as the impact on the wildlife, must be addressed.

• How can the impact of accommodation, heating, disposal of waste and sewerage be kept to a minimum?

• The nature of Antarctica as a last frontier has made it an attractive location for many countries to consider regarding the exploitation of its resources.

TOURISM IN ANTARCTICA

MINERAL EXPLORATION IN ANTARCTICAMineral exploitation and tourism have been the most controversial proposals for the use of Antarctica.

A moratorium has been placed on mineral exploration and exploitation until 2048.

• At the time of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957, there were 7 nations that claimed territory in Antarctica. These were Norway, France, Australia and New Zealand (separate claims) and Britain, Chile and Argentina, whose claims overlap.

• Such was the success of the scientific cooperation between the 12 participants (Belgium, Japan, USA, South Africa and USSR being the others) that they decided to come up with an agreement to ensure that Antarctica only be used for peaceful purposes.

SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION

THE ANTARCTIC TREATY The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by the 12 nations and officially came into force two years later in 1961. The Treaty declares that the land south of 60 degrees South latitude is a demilitarised zone, prohibits nuclear explosions and the disposal of nuclear waste, guarantees freedom of scientific research and free exchange of scientific information and stipulates that Antarctica should forever be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. It was decided that territorial claims would neither be recognised nor refuted but remain inoperative while the Treaty exists.There are now twenty decision-making nations and nineteen others that have 'acceded' to the Treaty and attend meetings.

• By the middle of the 1980s, the possibility that improving technology might one day allow for extensive oil and mineral exploration of the continent was becoming a reality.

• There was conflict between the Antarctic Treaty nations as they tried to negotiate a formal agreement to regulate any future exploitation of minerals on the Antarctic continent. In 1988, a draft agreement was proposed.

• There were many concerns about the draft as it stood, mainly because environmental safeguards and controls were not specified and there was little provision for which nation would be held responsible should any accident occur.

CONCERNS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS • Over a period of about 18 months there was a process of ongoing political lobbying and discussion between diplomats and government representatives from the influential treaty nations.

• During the negotiations, Australia, NZ, Chile, Argentina and Norway argued for stringent environmental safeguards.

• The more 'pro-mining' nations were Japan, the US, France, the UK and West Germany.

• No country could have prevented mining in 'their territory' and no liability was to be defined in the documents.

• In Australia, Federal Cabinet debated throughout early 1989 as to whether or not we should sign the Treaty. Senator Richardson (then Minister for the Environment) and Senator Evans (the then Foreign Affairs Minister) argued that we should sign because they believed that mining was inevitable and at least then we would have some say in ensuring safeguards were implemented.

• By April 1989, Australia was the only nation yet to sign, that is, 15 out of the needed 16 had already done so. In France, pressure from anti-mining green groups was mounting and a Jacques Cousteau petition persuaded the French Parliament to call for a renegotiation.

• The Americans tried to pressure Bob Hawke, who had always been anti-mining, into signing but he (having the final decision in the Government) eventually decided against it. Greenpeace Australia and the Australian Conservation Foundation had a lot to do with his decision.

MINING AND ANTI-MINING LOBBY

AUSTRALIA REFUSING TO SIGN • In May 1989, Bob Hawke announced that Australia was opposed to mining in Antarctica and that consequently, Australia refused to sign the convention as it stood.

• He believed that stronger protection was both desirable and possible and proposed to obtain consensus among other 'consultative parties' on the establishment of a comprehensive regime to protect the Antarctic environment and its ecosystems.

Environmental groups around the world tried to pressure governments into

declaring Antarctica a world park. France

and Australia revived an idea that had originally been

proposed by green groups in New

Zealand a few years earlier, that is, a World Park to be

administered by the United Nations.

HOPES TO CREATE A WORLD PARK

NEGOCIATING THE FUTURE• In February 1990, New

Zealand set aside its original ratification of the Minerals Convention. By November 1990, the UK had reportedly also changed their position and the Americans were wavering. By December 1990, a new clause had been written into the original convention calling for a fifty year moratorium on mining.

• However, the nations proposing the ban; Australia, France, Belgium and Italy supported by New Zealand and six other nations, were still not confident of gaining approval from Britain and America.

• In April 1991, all nations were ready to sign the protocol and still the US held out against pressure from the other Treaty Nations.

• In late June 1991 they surprised everyone by agreeing to the anti-mining accord.

• Eventually, on 4th October 1991, after a number of governments had altered their original position, a new protocol was agreed upon which would effectively place a moratorium on any mineral exploration for 50 years.

• Various modifications can be made at any time, however, if all parties agree.

THE MORATORIUM WAS AGREED IN 1991

MADRID PROTOCOL WAS SIGNED IN 1998• Because of legislative

delays, however, the Protocol on Environment Protection, or the Madrid Protocol, was not ratified until the December 15, 1997 when Japan became the last of the 26 Antarctic Treaty consultative parties needed for the new protocol to be enforced.

• It automatically passed into international law 30 days later on January 14, 1998.

• The protocol's rules govern travel to Antarctica, control waste disposal and entry to protected areas and require environmental assessments of all proposed activities.

• The resolution has yet to be put to the test by countries flouting any of the regulations.

• In any case, it will only be a resolution for the next fifty years at best.

• In the years preceding 2048, it is likely that technology will have advanced to a point where immediate minerals exploitation will become a more distinct possibility.

THE FUTURE