1998 Year of the Ocean A Survey of International Agreements 



on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (concluded 1980, entered into force 

 1982). 



The consultative parties adopted a Protocol on Environmental Protection in Madrid on 

 October 4, 1991, which entered into force on January 14, 1998. The Protocol designates 

 Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, and sets forth basic principles and 

 detailed mandatory rules applicable to human activities in Antarctica, including obligations to 

 accord priority to scientific research. The Protocol also establishes a Committee on 

 Envirormiental Protection as an expert advisory body to provide advice and formulate 

 recommendations for consideration at the consultative meetings. 



The Treaty is open to any member of the United Nations. Thirty-one additional countries 

 have joined since it came into force in 1961: Austria. Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, 

 Cuba, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, 

 India, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Romania, 

 the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay. Of these, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Finland, 

 Germany, India, Italy, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and 

 Uruguay have since become consultative parties entitled to attend and vote at consultative 

 meetings provided for under Article IX of the Antarctic Treaty. Consultative status is open to 

 representatives of any acceding party during such time as that party demonstrates its interest in 

 Antarctica by the conduct of substantial scientific research there. Representatives of all other 

 Antarctic Treaty parties may participate in consultative meetings as observers if they wish to do 

 so. These meetings are held annually to consult on matters of common interest to Antarctica and 

 to recommend to the Consultative party governments measures which will further the objectives 

 of the treaty. 



The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, 1980 



The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources establishes 

 the legal obligations and mechanism for dealing with fishing activities in the waters around 

 Antarctica. This Convention requires that management action take into account the impact of 

 activities on all living organisms in the Antarctic ecosystem. More specifically, the objectives of 

 the Convention are to ensure that: 



(a) exploited populations not be allowed to fall below a level close to that which ensures 

 their greatest net annual increase; 



(b) depleted populations be restored to such levels; 



(c) ecological relationships between harvested, dependent, and related species be 

 maintained; and 



(d) risks of changes to the marine ecosystem that are not potentially reversible over two 

 or three decades be minimized. 



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