MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



point is the Director, Office of Ocean Affairs, Room 

 5805, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 

 20520-7818. The contact points for the other Treaty 

 Parties are listed in the reports of recent Treaty 

 meetings. A current list can be obtained from the 

 U.S. national contact.] 



Protocol on Environmental Protection 

 to the Antarctic Treaty 



The Antarctic Treaty contains no provisions for 

 governing exploitation of either living or non-living 

 resources in the Treaty Area. As noted in previous 

 Commission reports, the possibility that commercial 

 sealing might be resumed led the Consultative Parties 

 to negotiate and adopt the 1972 Convention for the 

 Conservation of Antarctic Seals. As discussed below, 

 concern regarding the possible effects of developing 

 fisheries on both target and non-target species led the 

 Consultative Parties to adopt the Convention on the 

 Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. 



After adopting the Convention on the Conservation 

 of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1981, the 

 Consultative Parties initiated negotiation of a regime 

 to govern possible mineral resource activities in 

 Antarctica. The Convention on the Regulation of 

 Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities was concluded 

 in June 1988. It will not enter into force unless 

 ratified by all 26 countries that were Consultative 

 Parties when negotiations were concluded in 1988. 



At the Consultative Meeting in 1989 several parties 

 indicated that they were opposed to any mineral 

 exploration or development in Antarctica and would 

 not ratify the Convention. They proposed instead that 

 consideration be given to the development of a regime 

 to prohibit mineral exploration and development, and 

 to afford added protection to the unique features and 

 values of Antarctica. Recognizing that the minerals 

 convention would not enter into force, the Consulta- 

 tive Parties agreed that a special Consultative Meeting 

 should be held in 1990 to consider various proposals 

 for protection of the Antarctic environment. This, the 

 Uth Special Consultative Meeting, led to conclusion 

 of the Protocol on Environmental Protection in 

 October 1991. The Protocol entered into force in 

 January 1998 following ratification by each of the 26 



parties that had consultative status at the time it was 

 concluded in October 1991. The basic intent of the 

 Protocol is to improve the effectiveness of the Antarc- 

 tic Treaty as a mechanism for protecting the Antarctic 

 environment and for ensuring that Antarctica does not 

 become the scene or object of international discord. 

 It prohibits any activity, other than scientific research, 

 relating to mineral resources in Antarctica. 



When concluded in October 1991 the Protocol 

 included four annexes. Those annexes specify obliga- 

 tions regarding (1) assessment in the planning stages 

 of the possible environmental impacts of both govern- 

 ment and non-government activities to be conducted 

 in the Antarctic Treaty Area, (2) conservation of 

 Antarctic fauna and flora, (3) waste disposal and 

 management, and (4) prevention of marine pollution. 

 A fifth annex, specifying obligations for protection 

 and management of areas of particular historic, 

 scientific, or environmental value, was adopted at the 

 regular Consultative Meeting later in October 1991. 

 Article 1 1 of the Protocol provides for the establish- 

 ment of a group of scientific and technical experts — 

 the Committee for Environmental Protection — to 

 provide advice to the Treaty Parties on measures 

 necessary to effectively implement the various provi- 

 sions of the Protocol and its annexes. 



The United States Implementing Legislation — 



The Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation 

 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-227) provides the 

 statutory authority necessary for the United States to 

 implement the Protocol. Among other things, the Act 

 requires that the Environmental Protection Agency, 

 the Coast Guard, and the National Science Foundation 

 promulgate regulations to implement certain provi- 

 sions of the Act. 



The Environmental Protection Agency is responsi- 

 ble for promulgating regulations to provide for the 

 environmental impact assessment of non-governmental 

 activities, including tourism, for which the United 

 States is required to give advance notice under para- 

 graph 5 of Article VII of the Antarctic Treaty; and co- 

 ordination of the review of information regarding 

 environmental impact assessments received from other 

 Parties under the Protocol. 



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