The international legal framework for protecting the health of Antarctic wildlife

Abstract

An assessment of the framework of the international law for protecting the health of Antarctic wildlife first requires an appreciation of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS 1959). The ATS has rapidly developed since the adoption of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. While initially designed to resolve tensions over sovereignty, the freedom of scientific research, and the potential militarisation of the continent during the Cold War, the Treaty parties soon began to direct their attention to the protection of the Antarctic environment. In 1964, the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora were adopted as Recommendation III-VIII (Bush 1982a, pp. 146-169). These were followed in 1972 by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS 1972), and in 1980 by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). During the 1980s there was considerable debate amongst the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs) over the need for a minerals regime in Antarctica. This eventually resulted in the adoption of the Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities in 1988 (CRAMRA 1988); however, this Convention was quickly abandoned in favour of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Protocol 1991), commonly referred to as the Madrid protocol.