International Agreements Can Serve to Safeguard Antarctica

As per international treaties, Antarctica as a continent is protected from harm and is considered a wilderness preserve, so that all of the emperor penguins, blue whales, and every other bit of wildlife is protected. For the past decade or so, oil drilling and mining have been banned from Antarctica in order to safeguard its natural beauty; this protection will last 40 more years. The treaty places a strong emphasis on conservation but not development. Any wildlife threats, including dogs and pesticides are also forbidden.

The continent is protected through the Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctica Treaty. The nations around the world agreed to leave Antarctica free from commercial and industrial development. The leading 26 nations that had scientific interest in the area approved the treaty in 1991. These nations include the United States, Russia, India, China, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and most nations in Europe.

The treaty stopped the arguing that was going on for more than 15 years about regulating the area. The rules said that the 35 scientific outposts had to clean their dumps and pick up their garbage and oil and mining was banned. Antarctic waters are also protected from scientific stations and tourist ships dumping raw sewage into them.

The Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, was the first person to arrive at the South Pole in 1911, and he used sled dogs to get there. However, this recent treaty has placed a ban on dogs, based on their tendency to kill native birds and penguins. The treaty also bans non-sterile soil, pesticides, and polystyrene packaging anywhere in Antarctica.

The continent lies under a covering of ice that averages a mile deep. The area supports limited plant life such as moss and grasses. The ice cover contains 70 percent of the earth's fresh water. The surrounding water is rich with whales, sea birds, seals and fish.

You won't find a more environmentally preserved environment than Antarctica. Life grows very slowly at the continual below-zero temperature conditions. Any disturbance of the environment can take years to recover from. Fore example, even a footprint on a moss bed can remain the same for a decade.

1959 marked the signing of the initial Antarctic Treaty, and it prohibited military operations and the testing of nuclear devices in the region. Antarctica was then declared to be neutral territory where international research could occur. Antarctica isn't owned by anyone at all, but there isn't an area that doesn't have some sort of national presence.

Conservations laws were pushed for in the 1980's when scientists discovered oil reserves, coal, copper, gold, iron, zinc, manganese, uranium and other minerals off the coastline. When the world saw an energy crisis in the 1970s, many companies considered drilling in Antarctica. The interest in mining and drilling will probably increase as technology advances and oil prices increase.

While it is law in all twenty-six countries, each nation would enforce the regulations individually. But if someone belonging to a particular nation goes against the treaty, and the government does nothing, the other 25 countries will exert pressure to remedy the issue. A lot of people think that this treaty is a great achievement for the environment.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

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by: Isabella Fisher

Total views: 4 Word Count: 535 Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 Time: 6:03 AM - 0 comments

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