Antarctica Treaty

Antarctica

Obviously all you have to do is Google “Antarctica” and find all kinds of info, but here are a few things that I’ve found interesting.  Antarctica is the 5^th largest continent and its land mass covers 4.59 millions square miles of which all but.0.4% is covered by ice—LOTS of ice.  So much that is actually weighing down the continent and sinking it.  It pops back up as the ice melts!  There is no permanent human population and it is not the sovereign territory of any nation.

Governance of Antarctica is currently by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.  During the sealing period of 1775-1900 there was very little governance of any kind, and post WWII several countries wanted and tried to make claims on Antarctica.  I won’t go into any of this, but it’s quite interesting and leads up to 1958 when the US invited all interested countries to consider development of a treaty to protect Antarctica, and by 1959 negotiations were complete and included all land, ice and water at the 60 latitude and below!   12 countries signed the original agreement that went into effect in 1961.  In the 5 decades since 38 more countries have signed the treaty.  The treaty came about as a way to not only protect Antarctica wildlife and unique ecosystem, but a way to deal with territorial claims made by 7 nations.  During the first half of the 20h century, Norway, Australia, France, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and the UK all claimed portions to be their sovereign territory.  (Chile, Argentina, and the UK all claimed the Antarctic peninsula-where we are currently cruising—and treated the others as trespassers.)  The Antarctic Treaty dealt with these claims by ignoring them.  It does not dissolve any territorial claims nor does it recognize any of them. It treats Antarctica as a big science lab and more recently, a tourist playground.  Military build-up and nuclear waste disposal is forbidden.  Every nation operating here has a right to inspect any other nation’s facilities.  Exchange of information and personnel among nations is a feature of the treaty and even during hostile actions between world governments, the individual scientists have been able to work together. 

Most treaty countries have built research stations with “science” being the reason, but many of these countries have kept their eyes on the territorial prize, and if the treaty ever expires, territory will again become an important aspect of each countries presence here.  There are 7 countries with existing territorial claims:  Argentina, Chile, France, New Zealand, Australia, Norway and the UK.  All have maintained their presence in their claimed areas and have set up bases, post offices, and schools to strengthen their claims.  A few Chilean and Argentinian women have even been sent to Antarctica to have babies to bolster their claim to colonize the continent.  Give a new spin on “anchor babies”!  

In addition to how countries conduct themselves, there are rules as to how tourist must behave.  We are given a paper of “General Guideline for Visitors of the Antarctic” per ATCM Resolution (Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings) that begins by stating “all visits to Antarctica should be conducted in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty, it’s Protocol on Environmental Protection, and relevant measures and resolutions adopted by ACTM.  These guidelines provide general advice for visiting any location, with the aim of ensuring visits do not have adverse impact on the Antarctica environment, or on its scientific and aesthetic values.”