Antarctica is the largest and most pristine wilderness on Earth, covering an area of nearly 14 million square km. Less than 0.5% of the continent is ice-free. Scientific research is the major human activity carried out in Antarctica, but there are also significant fisheries and tourist operations. The continent is extremely important for science because it is an unparalleled natural laboratory for undertaking research of global relevance. But much of the scientific value of Antarctica will be lost if it is allowed to be polluted or significantly disturbed.

Most human activities have some form of environmental impact. However, in Antarctica the effects of activities taking place there are very localized, not regional or continental. It is activities taking place outside Antarctica that have caused major and lasting impacts. For example, the annual "ozone hole" above Antarctica, which is caused by the release, mostly from the industrialized northern hemisphere, of man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In October 1996 the area of the hole was nearly 20 million square km.

From the time of its initial discovery and exploration, carious territorial claims have been made on Antarctica and its related islands. Among the earliest of these was the United Kingdom in 1908. Other nations making territorial claims here include Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, and Norway. Several other nations have conducted explorations but make no territorial claims, such as Belgium, Germany, Japan, member countries of the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Prior to WW II, the Antarctic was regarded as an interesting but hostile and difficult place to be, so territorial claims were not pressed. After the war, technology made Antarctica more accessible. Declining whale stocks were more in demand, the continent’s strategic importance more real, and its scientific value better understood. Accordingly, international discussions were set in motion that resulted in an extraordinary agreement - the Antarctic Treaty. During the 1950’s, at the height of the Cold War, the scientific community of meteorologists and geophysicists was interested in using Antarctica as a platform from which to study polar climate, space, and earth’s magnetism. American and Soviet scientists put aside their political differences to come together for research purposes. An International Geophysical Year (IGY) was proposed for 1957/ 58 to accomplish this multidisciplinary, multinational cooperative task. With scientific results obtained, the cooperation of using Antarctica in a unified manner provided the impetus for a more general political agreement.

In 1959, the 12 interested nations (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the UK, the US, and Russia) signed a treaty that went into effect on June 23, 1961. The basic agreement contains only 14 articles and established a number of constraints designed to foster international cooperation and to protect Antarctica and its resources from damage and over-exploitation. The essential points of the Treaty are as follows:

• The Antarctic will be used for peaceful, non-military purposes only (but military support is OK, such as in transportation assistance).
• There will be freedom of scientific investigation including the exchange of personnel and observations.
• While the Treaty is in force, territorial claims will be held in abeyance.
• Nuclear explosions and disposal of radioactive wastes are prohibited.
• Consultative meetings among treaty nations will be held periodically, especially to further the preservation and conservation of living resources.
• Activity by any country that is contrary to the Treaty will be discouraged by member nations.

These meetings have made substantial progress in the protection of Antarctica’s living resources by strengthening the Treaty with four major ratifications. The first of these is the 1964 Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Flora & Fauna, which set aside Antarctica as a unique ecosystem requiring special conservation. It also set up basic rules for operating scientific stations in a non-harmful manner so as not to disrupt the area’s ecosystem.

In 1978, the Agreed Measures was further ratified by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. This was established due to the concerns that Antarctic seals were vulnerable to commercial exploitation, as they had been in the past, and the consequent need for effective conservation measures. SCAR (the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) was willing to carry out the necessary tasks of studying the seal populations and learning more about their biology.

With increasing concerns over the potential exploitation of the krill fishery in Antarctic waters, 1982 saw another ratification taking place with CCAMLR (pronounced "camel-R"), the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. This regulates the harvesting of Antarctic krill and allows SCAR to conduct research required to establish guidelines for harvesting renewable living resources. CCAMLR states that the contracting parties recognize, "the importance of safeguarding the environment and protecting the integrity of the ecosystem in the seas surrounding Antarctica."

Lastly, the 1991 Environmental Protocol (called the Madrid Protocol, since it was signed in Spain) recognized that land-based resources, such as minerals, also needed protection. It was recognized that mineral exploration would eventually happen. How would such exploration/ exploitation be managed? The protection of the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems must be a basic consideration in decisions made on possible mineral resource activities.

The Madrid Protocol reaffirms "that it is in the interest of all mankind that the Antarctic Treaty shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord." It includes a 50-year minimum ban on mineral exploration/ exploitation (except for scientists collecting rock samples) and put to rest concerns that some countries were hoarding minerals for themselves. All 26 Antarctic Treaty nations have ratified the Protocol that, since January 1998, has had the full force of international law.

Along with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty and its ratifications, other measures to protect the Southern Ocean and Antarctic ecosystem are informally, but strongly, enforced. Many environmental organizations, such as WWF, Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club take an active role in helping to protect the region.

IAATO

Founded by seven private tour operators in 1991, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has grown to include 46 member and associate member companies in The United States, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, The Netherlands, and New Zealand. The IAATO is dedicated to appropriate, safe and environmentally sound private-sector travel to the Antarctic.

Whaling and the Southern Ocean Sanctuary

Of final concern is the argument by Japan, primarily, to open the Southern Ocean, which has been designated a sanctuary, for commercial whaling. In 1994, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) established the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. This covers all waters surrounding Antarctica and protects three-quarters of the world’s whales in their feeding grounds. Most of the great whales are highly migratory, feeding in the nutrient-rich waters of the Antarctic before traveling to tropical waters to give birth and suckle their young. They then make the long migration back to their feeding grounds. Since whales rarely cross the equator, establishment of these sanctuaries would mean that the whales of the Southern Hemisphere could live their entire lives in an area free from commercial whaling.

Using the excuse of "scientific" reasons, Japan killed 389 whales in the Southern Ocean in 1999. Japan is not only defying the moratorium and opposing new sanctuaries, it is actually pressing to abolish the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.