Chapter V — International 



Commission representatives have served as advisors 

 on many delegations to Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

 Meetings and meetings of the Commission and Scien- 

 tific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Marine Living Resources. 



Activities and background information concerning 

 activities carried out in 1995 are described below. 



Protocol on Environmental Protection 

 to the Antarctic Treaty 



As noted in previous Marine Mammal Commission 

 reports, a Protocol on Environmental Protection to the 

 Antarctic Treaty was concluded by the Antarctic 

 Treaty Consultative Parties in October 1991. The 

 protocol includes five annexes. These annexes specify 

 requirements regarding (1) assessment in the planning 

 stages of the possible environmental impacts of 

 activities conducted in the Antarctic Treaty area, (2) 

 conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora, (3) waste 

 disposal and management, (4) prevention of marine 

 pollution, and (5) protection and management of areas 

 of particular historic, scientific, or environmental 

 importance. 



The basic intent of the protocol is to improve the 

 effectiveness of the Antarctic Treaty as a mechanism 

 for protecting the Antarctic environment and for 

 ensuring that the Antarctic does not become the scene 

 or object of international discord. It will enter into 

 force when it has been ratified by all 26 of the current 

 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. When it enters 

 into force, it will establish general principles and 

 legally binding obligations to protect the Antarctic 

 environment. It will prohibit any activities relating to 

 mineral exploration and development for at least 50 

 years. 



By the end of 1995, 19 consultative parties had 

 ratified the protocol (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, 

 Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, 

 Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, 

 Spain, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and 

 Uruguay). The U.S. Senate provided its advice and 

 consent on ratification in October 1992. However, as 

 a matter of general practice, the United States will not 

 deposit its instrument of ratification until legislation 



has been enacted providing the statutory authority 

 necessary to implement its provisions. By the end of 

 1995 Congress had not yet enacted implementing 

 legislation. 



Environmental Impact Monitoring — When it 

 enters into force, the Protocol on Environmental 

 Protection will require that parties carrying out 

 activities in Antarctica design and conduct programs 

 to verify that the activities do not have unacceptable 

 environmental impacts as defined in the protocol. As 

 noted in the Marine Mammal Commission's annual 

 report for 1992, a meeting of experts on environmen- 

 tal monitoring was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 

 on 1-4 June 1992 to determine the types of environ- 

 mental impacts that could result from research and 

 other activities in Antarctica and the kinds of monitor- 

 ing programs that would be required to detect possible 

 impacts. Meeting participants included representatives 

 of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the 

 Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, 

 the World Conservation Union, and 20 of the 26 

 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. A Marine 

 Mammal Commission representative was a member of 

 the U.S. delegation. 



The participants concluded that the activities most 

 likely to have impacts relative to the Antarctic Treaty 

 Protocol on Environmental Protection were (1) station 

 and airstrip construction and logistic operations, (2) 

 wastewater and sewage disposal, (3) incineration of 

 waste, (4) power and heat generation, (5) activities 

 involving taking or affecting the habitat of native 

 fauna and flora, (6) scientific research, and (7) 

 accidents resulting in fuel spills or other types of 

 environmental contamination. They recommended 

 that research programs be established at a representa- 

 tive subset of facilities of different types and sizes in 

 different Antarctic environments (e.g., at one or more 

 inland stations built on ice or ice shelves and one or 

 more coastal stations built on rock or earth) to assess 

 their impacts on the surrounding environment. 



The meeting report was provided to the XVIIth 

 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in Venice 

 on 11-28 November 1992. Following consideration 

 of the report, the representatives of the treaty parties 

 asked that the Scientific Committee on Antarctic 

 Research (SCAR) provide advice on the types of long- 



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