Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is a global coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to the preservation of the Antarctic region and surrounding southern oceans as a wilderness area. Founded in 1978, ASOC advocates for environmental protection and reform within this fragile ecosystem, especially by monitoring the Antarctic Treaty System, which provides a framework for international cooperation on research and conservation. The coalition was established by notable organizations, including Friends of the Earth International and the World Wildlife Fund, to support sustainable resource management and to combat illegal hunting and fishing practices.
ASOC plays a critical role in reporting to various international organizations tasked with safeguarding the Antarctic's environment. It collaborates with treaty bodies and organizations such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Whaling Commission to influence policy and promote conservation efforts. Noteworthy campaigns by ASOC include initiatives for the conservation of Antarctic krill, the establishment of a Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and protection measures for the Ross Sea. The coalition also contributes to scientific efforts, including the development of extensive databases cataloging the region's unique biodiversity, vital for understanding its ecological balance in the context of global climate change.
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Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
IDENTIFICATION: Global coalition of nongovernmental organizations with a common commitment to preserve the lands of the Antarctic region and the southern oceans in perpetuity as a wilderness area
DATE: Founded in 1978
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition is the only nongovernmental organization that serves to advocate for environmental protection and reform for the Antarctic region. It plays an important role in support of the region by monitoring the Atlantic Treaty System.
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) was established by the Friends of the Earth International, the World Wildlife Fund office of New Zealand, and other environmental organizations to monitor the Atlantic Treaty System, to implement its environmental protocols, and to provide expert witness in Antarctic affairs. ASOC seeks to advance the preservation and protection of the fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic continent and its surrounding waters. It reports regularly to key international organizations serving mandates to protect the Antarctic and its ecosystems from illegal hunting and fishing practices and to advocate for sustainable resource management, including disposal and protection.
World Wildlife Fund founder Sir Peter Scott visited Antarctica in 1966 in the wake of successive international expeditions to the South Pole in the twentieth century, notably during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. Prior to that time the southern Antarctic region and its complex relationship to global ecosystems were poorly understood. Despite regularly coordinated International Polar Year efforts, data systems were not sufficient to bring into clear focus the singular contributions of the southern oceans and icy landmasses of the Antarctic continent to the health of planetary and the cosmography of global temperatures and climate. The critical roles of the Antarctic Convergence and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in maintaining powerful hydraulic and chemical processes within the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans are of particular interest to international climatologists concerned with the possible consequences of global warming on sea levels and acidification.
Several international protocols are in place to preserve the Antarctic region in perpetuity as a pristine wilderness and global commons for international research. As an outcome of the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, twelve nations established research stations in the Antarctic, and on December 1, 1959, they signed the Antarctic Treaty proposed by the United States. By 2024, fifty-seven international participants had agreed to honor the treaty’s commitment to collaborative research and environmental protection while proscribing military operations on the continent. Twenty-eight nations serve as consultative parties with authority to make decisions on behalf of the treaty.
ASOC works closely with the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat and attends meetings sponsored by other international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization and the International Whaling Commission, as well as the bodies overseeing the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. Major ASOC campaigns have included the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and protection for the Ross Sea.
As an outcome of the 2007-2008 International Polar Year, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) developed a network of databases cataloging the extraordinary biodiversity of the South Pole region. The brainchild of Claude De Broyer and Bruno Danis at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN) is a collaborative effort by hundreds of scientists worldwide to establish the Register of Antarctic Marine Species, the first complete online resource of its kind. This system collates data from more than one hundred international databases to create detailed mappings of the delicate of Antarctica. These images provide valuable information for scientists seeking to understand and analyze the biological equilibrium of the region and the implications of on life-forms unique to its lands and waters.
Bibliography
"The Antarctic Treaty." Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, 2024, www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html. Accessed 12 July 2024.
Bargagli, R. Antarctic Ecosystems: Environmental Contamination, Climate Change, and Human Impact. New York: Springer, 2005.
Joyner, Christopher C. Governing the Frozen Commons: The Antarctic Regime and Environmental Protection. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998.
Steig, Eric J., et al. “Warming of the Antarctic Ice-Sheet Surface Since the 1957 International Geophysical Year.” Nature 457 (January 22, 2009): 459-462, doi:10.1038/nature07669. Accessed 12 July 2024.
Triggs, Gillian D., ed. The Antarctic Treaty Regime: Law, Environment, and Resources. 1987. Reprint. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Turner, John, et al., eds. Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment. Cambridge, England: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, 2009.