Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

• DATE: Final draft presented on December 1, 1959; became effective on June 23, 1961

The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, created and endorsed by representatives of the twelve signatory nations and endorsed by many other nations since, designates Antarctica as a demilitarized zone and bans commercial mineral and oil exploration there until 2041, when the treaty’s provisions will be reviewed and possibly altered. It also bans the disposal of radioactive waste in the area.

Background

Exploration of Antarctica began early in the twentieth century, when sailors hunting whales and seals penetrated the waters surrounding this forbidding continent. As early as 1940, seven countries—Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom—had laid claim to various parts of Antarctica. Some such claims overlapped, increasing the potential for conflict.

Antarctica is unique among Earth’s seven continents because it has no permanent residents and no established government. Its harsh makes it more suitable for scientists than for soldiers and entrepreneurs. During the International Geophysical Year (IGY), which ran from July 1, 1957, until December 31, 1958, twelve nations built thirty-five scientific research stations on the continent and fifteen on the nearby Antarctic islands. As of 2024, there were seventy research stations in Antarctica, many of which operated only during the Antarctic summer, which runs from mid-October until early March.

When the IGY ended, representatives from the twelve nations involved in that project gathered in Washington, DC, and produced the Antarctic Treaty, whose sixteen articles spelled out how the continent would be devoted to scientific research. Representatives of the twelve signatory nations presented the treaty on December 1, 1959. It went into effect on June 23, 1961.

Among other documents that compose the Antarctic Treaty System are the of Antarctic Fauna and Flora, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

The Antarctic Treaty was expanded in 1991, when twenty-four countries signed the Madrid Protocol, which banned commercial development, mining, and exploration for oil on the continent for fifty years. This provision will be reconsidered in 2041.

By 2024, fifty-eight nations had endorsed the Antarctic treaties, which are the most effective such international treaties ever entered into by such a broad spectrum of nations. Antarctica remains the most peaceful of Earth’s seven continents, with representatives of nearly one hundred nations working cooperatively on their scientific pursuits and sharing their findings with their fellow scientists.

Provisions

The provisions of the Antarctic treaties were not accepted merely on the basis of a majority vote. They were, instead, passed by consensus, which explains, at least partially, their overwhelming success and broad acceptance.

As the IGY neared its termination in 1958, considerable concern existed that the seven nations that had laid claim to parts of Antarctica would begin to have disputes about their claims. It was these concerns that led the US State Department to inaugurate meetings in Washington, DC, with eleven other nations that had vested interests in Antarctica.

Representatives of these nations met for more than a year in an attempt to reach an accord that would protect Antarctica from widespread incursions from a host of nations. Through these meetings, the Antarctic Treaty was forged. It was signed on December 1, 1959, by representatives of the twelve nations that participated in the IGY, after which it was ratified and went into effect on June 23, 1961.

Perhaps the most important provision of the treaty is its stipulation that all the signatories agree to abandon all territorial claims on this frozen continent. This provision alleviated the fear that the seven nations that had previously laid claim to parts of Antarctica, all of which were involved in drafting the treaty, would exercise what they considered their proprietary rights and could conceivably enter into dangerous conflicts to protect such rights.

Once this caveat was overcome, the rest of the provisions of the treaty fell into place. Cognizant of the importance of keeping Antarctica a peaceful continent, the initial Antarctic Treaty banned all military activity on the continent. It also forbade the testing of weapons, nuclear testing, and the disposal of nuclear waste on the continent. These provisions set aside 10 percent of the Earth’s surface as nuclear-free and demilitarized zones.

Among the protective stipulations of the Antarctic Treaty produced in 1959 is the prohibition of the importation of soil into the continent. The fear is that imported soil will carry with it unknown biohazards such as fungi, bacteria, and insects that might pollute the pristine of Antarctica.

Openness is a major theme of the treaty’s provisions, which call for the free exchange of scientific information among the disparate groups of scientists who are involved in polar research. Scientists from the signatory nations covered by the treaty are expected to share information with one another and to make their research plans and scientific outcomes available. The provisions of the treaty permit personnel from any of the research stations to visit and inspect without prior notice any of the research facilities in Antarctica.

Realizing that disputes arise inevitably in multinational situations, those who drafted the treaty provided for conflict resolution. Efforts must be made to settle disputes through arbitration or negotiation. If such efforts fail, however, the problem is referred to the International Court of Justice for a resolution that is considered binding. Those who drafted the treaty were conscious of the need to make it sufficiently flexible to deal with new issues or problems as they arise in rapidly changing contexts.

The official languages of the treaty are English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The documents associated with the treaty are held by the government of the United States, which is responsible for preserving them and distributing them as required.

There are two levels of membership in the Antarctic Treaty System, consultative and nonconsultative. In order to be consultative members, nations must maintain at least one research station in Antarctica. Consultative members have voting rights that are not available to nonconsultative members. In some instances, consultative members close their research stations, as India did its Dakshin Gangotri Station in 1981, but as long as they maintain one station—India continues to maintain the Maitre Station as a permanent facility—they retain consultative membership.

Since the enactment of the treaty, society has become increasingly sensitive to environmental problems that received less attention in the 1960s than they did in the 1990s and beyond. As a result of this change in outlook, the Madrid Protocol was enacted in 1991. It bans exploration for oil and other minerals in Antarctica for fifty years. In 2041, this provision will be revisited and possibly reconsidered.

Impact on Resource Use

Antarctica is a mineral-rich continent, but its harsh climate and the thick ice sheets—some more than 3 kilometers deep—that cover it make the retrieval of minerals expensive and hazardous. Many parts of the continent never reach temperatures above freezing, and even those areas, such as the Antarctic Peninsula, that have more moderate climates are too cold to sustain much plant and animal life. Nevertheless, as mining equipment becomes increasingly sophisticated, the recovery of oil and other minerals from Antarctica will undoubtedly become feasible.

The enactment of the Antarctic Treaty System has been aimed at the of a frozen wilderness that has considerable potential as a source of natural resources, although this potential remains underdeveloped. Among the other natural resources of which the continent boasts are stores of freshwater, estimated to constitute 80 percent of the on Earth. As water shortages become commonplace in many parts of the developed world, means will be explored for transporting some of Antarctica’s abundant water to water-starved regions.

Some Middle Eastern countries have already explored the possibility of hauling huge icebergs into areas that are parched and of using the freshwater in them for irrigation and other purposes, including drinking water. Most of the ice in icebergs is composed of freshwater. Future additions to the Antarctic Treaties will likely deal with the preservation and transportation of huge masses of ice into the populated parts of the world that are much in need of water. At the same time, future amendments may need to address the consequences of global climate change as well.

Bibliography

"The Antarctic Treaty." Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

Bloom, Evan T. "The Continuing Value of Consensus-Based Decision-Making in the Antarctic Treaty System." Wilson Center, www.wilsoncenter.org/article/continuing-value-consensus-based-decision-making-antarctic-treaty-system. 26 Dec. 2024.

Bocknek, Jonathan. Antarctica: The Last Wilderness. North Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media, 2004.

Currie, Stephen. Antarctica. New York: Lucent Books, 2004.

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Myers, Walter Dean. Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004.

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