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Activities Related to Non-Living Resources 



Activities associated with exploration for and development 

 of non-living resources, particularly offshore oil and gas, 

 could have direct and indirect effects on whales, seals, 

 krill, and other components of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. 

 The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties recognized this 

 possibility and, at the Xlth Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

 Meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1981, 

 Consultative Party representatives recommended that a regime 

 on Antarctic mineral resources be concluded as a matter of 

 urgency, that a Special Consultative Meeting be convened 

 in order to elaborate the regime, and that the regime include 

 means for: 1) assessing the possible impact of mineral 

 resource activities on the Antarctic environment in order to 

 provide for informed decision-making; 2) determining whether 

 mineral resource activities will be acceptable; and 3) 

 governing the ecological, technological, political, legal, 

 and economic aspects of those activities determined to be 

 acceptable. 



Following the Xlth Consultative Meeting, the Department 

 of State prepared and distributed a Draft Environmental 

 Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Negotiation of an International 

 Regime for Antarctic Mineral Resources. The Marine Mammal 

 Commission commented on the DEIS and provided assistance in 

 preparing for the first session of the Special Antarctic 

 Treaty Consultative Meeting, which was convened in Wellington, 

 New Zealand, in June 1982 to begin elaboration of an Antarctic 

 Minerals Regime. It was not possible to conclude an agreed 

 regime at the first session of the Special Consultative 

 Meeting. Informal consultations were subsequently held in 

 Wellington in January 1983 and a second session of the 

 Special Consultative Meeting took place in Bonn, West Germany, 

 in July 1983. A working group, established during the Bonn 

 meeting, will meet in Washington, D.C., 18 to 27 January 

 1984 to continue identification and discussion of critical 

 issues. The Marine Mammal Commission, as before, will work 

 with the Department of State and other interested Federal 

 agencies to prepare for this meeting. 



