The Antarctic Treaty Helps Antarctic Penguins
By Megan Spofford
What is the Antarctic Treaty?
The Antarctic Treaty is a document comprised of 14 articles outlining laws about how to govern Antarctica, and was originally signed into agreement in 1959 (but officially enacted in 1961) by 12 different countries. These countries agreed to manage the location only with peace, and as a place for scientific research where ideas were shared amongst each other. Some of the countries had already lay claim to certain regions in Antarctica before the Treaty was signed, and although those particular regions may still recognize those claims individually, as a whole, they are not controlled by any particular nation per the Treaty. The area of coverage this pertains to is anything below 60º S latitude.
Signing of the Antarctic Treaty on December 1st 1959
Source: Antarctic Treaty Image Bank
https://atsimagebank.omeka.net/items/show/9
Who participates in the Antarctic Treaty?
As of 2019, there are currently 54 recognized countries that participate in the governance of the Antarctic Treaty. These comprise of the original 12, and 42 more who were added throughout the years (a full list is in the image below). Not all of the participatory countries are actively involved in research on the continent, however. While 54 countries may not sound like many in the grand scheme of things, in reality it truly is a substantial number because all the countries that are part of the treaty (regardless of conducting research or not) represent at least ⅔ of the world’s population. The leaders from each of the signatory countries engage in yearly meetings to address matters that concern the Treaty.
Signing of the Antarctic Treaty on December 1st 1959
Source: Antarctic Treaty Image Bank
https://atsimagebank.omeka.net/items/show/9
Map of Territorial Claims in Antarctica
Source: CIA World Factbook
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
An especially important meeting occurred in 1991 in Madrid where Article 12 was addressed. This article explained that the limitations of the Treaty should be reassessed after 30 years (remember this Treaty was enacted in 1961!), and that if any of the participating entities were disgruntled with any part of it, the committee needed to address it. This is when the Environmental Protocol happened to be drafted. The Environmental Protocol set forth the recognition of Antarctica as a nature reserve, and protects the natural resources and native species of the area. This is the portion of the protocol that protects Antarctic penguins! It was officially enacted in 1998, and since then, revisions have been added to the protocol to better specify its purposes, or extend its reach.
How the Environmental Protocol protects penguins
The Environmental Protocol covers Antarctic flora and fauna (the fauna portion includes penguins). In particular, it gives native penguins and other animals the status of “specially protected species,” and explains that they cannot be removed, injured, killed, or disrupted by human activity (such as by motorized vehicles or pollution of the environment from waste). In some cases where any of these may have to occur for the purposes of scientific investigation, or to preserve the species, permits must be issued by members of the Antarctic Treaty, and researchers must be sure to limit the activity to affect as few individuals as possible. Other protections in this protocol outline that non-native species cannot be introduced to the island, and that the balanced ecosystem cannot be disrupted. Furthermore, population assessments must be conducted on native species regularly enough to evaluate whether they are continuing to thrive. If they are not, then the problems facing the population must be addressed.
Adelie Penguins on an iceberg
Some of the most recent additions to the Environmental Protocol that have beneficial consequences for native penguins include: guidelines for reducing plastic pollution in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (held in Prague in 2019), a non-native species manual (created in Santiago in 2016), identifying important bird areas in Antarctica (at a gathering in Sofia in 2015), meeting of experts on climate change (conducted in Baltimore in 2009), and many more in between those years, or before.
Setting an example
Thankfully, the Antarctic Treaty provides key protections to the native penguins of Antarctica, which include Gentoo, Chinstrap, Macaroni, Adelie and Emperor. It also sets a precedence across the world for many things: international cooperation for peace, appreciation for the importance of science, and respect for native wildlife. If it can be done there, then hopefully our leaders can use the Antarctic Treaty as a model, and transpose those practices (sometime in the near future) to the rest of the world when dealing with similar issues.
The Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol have done so much to protect penguins. We look forward to seeing what happens in the future. Please help us continue to provide you this type of information by donating to Penguins International.
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References
“Antarctic Treaty Meetings.” Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, www.asoc.org/advocacy/antarctic-governance/antarctic-treaty-meetings.
“Antarctic Treaty.” U.S. Department of State Archive, U.S. Department of State, 2001-2009.state.gov/g/oes/ocns/9570.htm#protocol.
“The Antarctic Treaty.” US National Science Foundation (NSF), www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/anttrty.jsp.
“Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora.” Fauna and Flora | Antarctic Treaty, Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, 2019, www.ats.aq/e/faflo.html.
