The Antarctic Treaty

• The Antarctic treaty is an agreement made by 12 countries in 1959 about how to sustainably manage antarcticas ecosystems
• the environmental protocol (started 1998)

  1. no mineral exploitation
  2. plants and animals must be conserved
  3. areas of the environment must be protected
  4. any sewage/rubbish disposed off away from Antarctica
  5. all domestic animals banned
  6. activities must undergo environmental impact assessment before they can take place
• globally agreed rules:

  • only 100 visitors allowed to land at any time
  • ships of over 500 people can’t stop
• some people think the treaty should be extended to the surrounding oceans to protect the marine life