Treaties Assist In The Protection Of Antarctica
Antarctica teems with wild life like blue whales, emperor penguins and leopard seals from its towering mountain ranges to the seas; and is set aside as a wilderness preserve by international agreement. This agreement has been in effect since 1998. Plus, mining and oil drilling have been banned in this region for 50 years. This is the coldest place on Earth and is the most pristine ecosystem around. The protection focuses on conservation rather than developing the continent. The agreement forbids a number or possible threats to wildlife including pesticides and non-native animals.
The continent is protected through the Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctica Treaty. It binds the world nations in an agreement that leaves one location free of commercialism 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.
By delineating regulation, the treaty served to end more than fifteen years of lobbying by environmentalists and diplomatic discussions. In addition to prohibiting oil exploration and mining, the rules mandate that nations involved in the thirty-five scientific outposts remove all their waste and clean up their dumps. Further, tourist vessels and scientific stations are prohibited from discharging raw sewage into the waters surrounding Antarctica.
When the first person to reach the South Pole, Roald Amundsen, got there in 1911, he got around the continent with sled dogs. 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.
Since Antarctica's land is buried under a mile of ice, most kinds of plants are not able to grow there, with the exception of moss and grass, and only close to the ocean. This ice holds 70% of the globe's freshwater reserves. Many kinds of sea life also live in or near Antarctica.
This amazing continent is considered one of the most fragile places on the planet. Growth takes place very slowly because of the consistency of the sub zero temperatures. It can take years for the area to recover from any disturbances. For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.
In 1959 the first Antarctic Treaty was signed and it banned military activity and nuclear testing. Rules for research were established and Antarctica was declared to be owned by no nation. A nation occupies nearly every inch of the area even though no one actually owns Antarctica.
Once scientists learned in the early 1980's that oil, coal, gold, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, uranium and more were present in and around Antarctica, environmental entities started to pressure their governments for regulation of land use. When oil became scarce in the 1970's, a few organizations began talking about extracting oil from Antarctica. Drilling for oil in Antarctica will probably become a highly-debated topic if the cost of oil continues to go up.
Rules will be enforced individually since all 26 nations have their own laws. If one country has a person that goes against the rules there will be pressure from the other nations for that nation to rectify the problem. Many are in agreement that the treaty constitutes an environmental success story.
The continent is protected through the Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctica Treaty. It binds the world nations in an agreement that leaves one location free of commercialism 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.
By delineating regulation, the treaty served to end more than fifteen years of lobbying by environmentalists and diplomatic discussions. In addition to prohibiting oil exploration and mining, the rules mandate that nations involved in the thirty-five scientific outposts remove all their waste and clean up their dumps. Further, tourist vessels and scientific stations are prohibited from discharging raw sewage into the waters surrounding Antarctica.
When the first person to reach the South Pole, Roald Amundsen, got there in 1911, he got around the continent with sled dogs. 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.
Since Antarctica's land is buried under a mile of ice, most kinds of plants are not able to grow there, with the exception of moss and grass, and only close to the ocean. This ice holds 70% of the globe's freshwater reserves. Many kinds of sea life also live in or near Antarctica.
This amazing continent is considered one of the most fragile places on the planet. Growth takes place very slowly because of the consistency of the sub zero temperatures. It can take years for the area to recover from any disturbances. For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.
In 1959 the first Antarctic Treaty was signed and it banned military activity and nuclear testing. Rules for research were established and Antarctica was declared to be owned by no nation. A nation occupies nearly every inch of the area even though no one actually owns Antarctica.
Once scientists learned in the early 1980's that oil, coal, gold, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, uranium and more were present in and around Antarctica, environmental entities started to pressure their governments for regulation of land use. When oil became scarce in the 1970's, a few organizations began talking about extracting oil from Antarctica. Drilling for oil in Antarctica will probably become a highly-debated topic if the cost of oil continues to go up.
Rules will be enforced individually since all 26 nations have their own laws. If one country has a person that goes against the rules there will be pressure from the other nations for that nation to rectify the problem. Many are in agreement that the treaty constitutes an environmental success story.
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