Chapter IV — International 



Future Meetings — The 51st meeting of the IWC 

 is scheduled to be held on 24-28 May 1999 in Grena- 

 da. Australia has offered to host the IWC meeting in 

 the year 2000. 



Conservation Issues 

 in the Southern Ocean 



Many species of seals, whales, dolphins, and 

 porpoises occur in the Southern Ocean (the seas sur- 

 rounding Antarctica). The Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, conducts a continuing review of activities in 

 Antarctica and surrounding waters that could affect 

 marine mammals directly or indirectly. As noted in 

 previous reports, the Commission has provided 

 numerous recommendations to the Department of 

 State, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 

 tration, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the 

 National Science Foundation regarding research and 

 international agreements needed to effectively regulate 

 sealing, whaling, fishery and mineral development, 

 and other activities that could affect marine mammals 

 and their habitats in the Southern Ocean. 



Commission representatives participate in inter- 

 agency meetings to develop U.S. policies regarding 

 activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. 

 Commission representatives have served on U.S. 

 delegations to most regular and special Antarctic 

 Treaty Consultative Meetings in the last 20 years, and 

 to most meetings of the Commission and Scientific 

 Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine 

 Living Resources. Information concerning activities 

 carried out in 1998 are described below. 



The Antarctic Treaty 



Seven countries — Argentina, Australia, Chile, 

 France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United King- 

 dom — claim sovereignty to parts of Antarctica and, 

 in some cases, to surrounding waters. Other 

 countries, including the United States, do not recog- 

 nize these claims. The Parties to the Antarctic 

 Treaty, which was concluded in 1959 and entered into 

 force in 1961, have agreed that no acts or activities 

 taking place while the Treaty is in force shall consti- 



tute a basis for asserting, supporting, or denying 

 territorial claims in Antarctica. 



The Treaty provides the international framework 

 for governing activities in Antarctica. It applies to the 

 lands and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. Its 

 principal objectives are to provide freedom for scien- 

 tific research and to ensure that Antarctica is used for 

 peaceful purposes only and does not become the scene 

 or object of international discord. 



Currently, 43 countries are Parties to the Treaty. 

 Of these, 27 are Consultative Parties (countries that 

 have established and maintained research programs in 

 Antarctica and are entitled to participate in the taking 

 of decisions under the Treaty) and 16 are Non-Consul- 

 tative Parties (countries that have acceded to the 

 Treaty but have not established or maintained research 

 programs in Antarctica and are not entitled to partici- 

 pate in decision-making). The Treaty requires that 

 representatives of the Consultative Parties meet 

 periodically to consider and recommend to their 

 governments measures necessary to give effect to the 

 Treaty, including measures necessary to conserve 

 living resources in the Treaty Area. 



Since the Treaty came into effect in 1961, there 

 have been 22 regular Consultative Meetings and 11 

 special Consultative Meetings. Special Consultative 

 Meetings have been held to consider information 

 submitted by countries seeking consultative party 

 status and to conclude separate agreements, such as 

 the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Seals, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarc- 

 tic Marine Living Resources, the Convention on the 

 Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, 

 and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the 

 Antarctic Treaty (described below). The Antarctic 

 Treaty and the related measures and independent 

 agreements adopted by the Treaty Parties are known 

 collectively as the Antarctic Treaty System. 



Previous Commission reports provide more com- 

 plete descriptions of the purposes, background, and 

 provisions of the Antarctic Treaty System. 



[Each of the Antarctic Treaty Parties has designated 

 a national contact point where information concerning 

 the Treaty System can be obtained. The U.S. contact 



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