Antarctic Treaty: Governance and Environmental Protection

From July 1957 to December 1958, the world community came together to celebrate the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Earth, ocean, and space scientists from sixty countries participated in IGY projects. In Antarctica, this international cooperation resulted in the establishment of a number of permanent and seasonal research stations, including the largest Antarctic research base, the US McMurdo Station, located on the Ross Ice Shelf (77°51'S 166°40'E); it had previously been built as a naval air facility.

This spirit of cooperation culminated in the signing of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 by twelve member countries that had an interest in Antarctic operations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Additional countries have signed subsequently, and there are currently twenty-eight voting members in the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty prohibits military activity and encourages scientific research and international cooperation. It also bans nuclear testing and defines the region as all areas south of 60°S, including the Southern Ocean. An addendum of environmental protection of Antarctica and the surrounding ocean was added in 1991; it prohibits gas and mineral development as well as waste dumping.

The Antarctic Treaty system includes three additional measures that prohibit the taking of species without a permit through the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Flora and Fauna, require a permit to hunt seals for commercial purposes (no country currently hunts seals) under the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS), and establish a Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The CCAMLR was set up as a response to large-scale unregulated krill catches in the Southern Ocean in the 1960s and 1970s. This treaty sets catch limits and encourages all countries to take an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

The Southern Ocean is also subject to two international marine agreements that are in place across all marine environments. The first is the regulation on whaling under the purview of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC recognizes the Southern Ocean as a whale sanctuary and prohibits all whaling. The IWC regulates all signatories in the Antarctic Treaty except Ukraine, which is not a member of the IWC. Additionally, Japan has routinely disregarded the sanctuary status of Southern Ocean whales and has conducted commercial whaling expeditions in Antarctic waters.

The second governing framework concerns maritime commerce and shipping under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In January 2017, the IMO began enforcement of the newly adopted Polar Code, an international code for ships operating in polar waters. The code ensures safety for ships operating in hazardous conditions, such as in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as environmental protections from detrimental shipping practices, such as waste dumping and oil slicks. It also regulates the number of passenger ships in remote and environmentally sensitive areas.