Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and thirteen of the 

 fourteen non-Consultative Parties attended the meeting. Matters 

 considered by the meeting included: comprehensive measures for 

 the protection of the Antarctic environment; revision of the Code 

 of Conduct on Waste Disposal; preventing and minimizing the 

 effects of marine pollution; environmental impact assessment; the 

 Antarctic Protected Area System; and improving the accessibility 

 and comparability of scientific data concerning Antarctica. 



Comprehensive Environmental Protection Measures — At the 

 Preparatory Meeting for the XVth Consultative Meeting, held in 

 Paris on 9-13 May 1989, the delegation of Chile proposed that a 

 special consultative meeting be held in 1990 to consider 

 "comprehensive measures" for the protection of the Antarctic 

 environment. Subseguently, the Government of Australia announced 

 that it would not sign the Convention for the Regulation of 

 Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (see below) and, with the 

 Government of France, proposed that a special consultative 

 meeting be held in 1990 to negotiate a "comprehensive 

 environmental protection convention" to augment the Antarctic 

 Treaty system. 



While there was widespread support at the XVth Consultative 

 Meeting to hold a special consultative meeting, there were 

 differing views on meeting purposes. France and Australia, as 

 noted above, proposed that the meeting initiate negotiation of a 

 comprehensive convention for protection of the Antarctic 

 environment, while Chile, the United States, and other countries 

 proposed that the 1990 meeting be used to identify and determine 

 steps that could and should be taken to overcome deficiencies in 

 the environmental protection provisions of the existing 

 components of the Antarctic Treaty system — i.e. , the Antarctic 

 Treaty, the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Flora and Fauna, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Seals, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine 



The signatory countries eligible to participate in the 

 taking of decisions under the Antarctic Treaty (i.e., the 

 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties) include: Argentina, 

 Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Federal Republic of 

 Germany, Finland, France, German Democratic Republic, India, 

 Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Republic of 

 Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Union of Soviet Socialist 

 Republics, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. 

 Signatories not eligible to participate in the taking of 

 decisions under the Antarctic Treaty (i.e. , non-Consultative 

 Parties) include: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, 

 Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, The 

 Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, People's Republic of Korea, and 

 Rumania. Papua New Guinea was the only Antarctic Treaty Party 

 not represented at the meeting. 



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