FIRST COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ON ANTARCTICA CONCLUDES WORK FOR CURRENT SESSION
Press Release
GA/DIS/3165
FIRST COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ON ANTARCTICA CONCLUDES WORK FOR CURRENT SESSION
19991111The General Assembly, recognizing that the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which provides for, among other things, the demilitarization of Antarctica, the prohibition of nuclear explosions and disposal of nuclear wastes, the freedom of scientific research, and the free exchange of scientific information, was in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, would take note of the recent report of the Secretary-General on the question, under the terms of a draft resolution approved this afternoon by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security).
The draft text, approved without a vote as the Committee concluded its work for the current Assembly session, would also have the Assembly welcome the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty on 14 January 1998, which has designated Antarctica as a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science.
By further terms of the text, the Assembly would recall that the States carrying out scientific activities in the Antarctic should make their research available to the international community and enhance access to such data by the international scientific community and specialized agencies of the United Nations system. The Assembly would also welcome the invitation to the Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to attend meetings of the Consultative Parties to the Treaty, and also the practice of those Parties of providing the Secretary-General information on their meetings.
In todays debate, before approval of the resolution, the representative of Lithuania said the Antarctic and its associated ecosystems played a critical role in the global environment. The principal environmental concerns were related to changes occurring at a global level, such as the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. There was a need for cooperation among States to preserve that continent. The global importance of its environment was such that its state needed to be assessed periodically and comprehensively.
The representative of Malaysia said the Secretary-Generals report had provided updated information on the activities undertaken by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, the Antarctic Treaty system and several international bodies. Concerning the Madrid Protocol, regrettably, of the 27 Consultative Parties, only 11 had adopted the legislation to implement the Protocol. Some members had refused to recognize the right of the Committee for
First Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/DIS/3165 28th Meeting (PM) 11 November 1999
Environmental Protection to review environmental impact assessment, which was at the heart of the Protocol. Concerns had also been expressed about tourism activities by non-consultative States, which had yet to become party to the Protocol and were thus not subjected to environmental impact assessment requirements.
The representative of the United Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the States parties to the Antarctic Treaty, said that the Treaty Consultative Parties had adopted numerous regulatory measures to provide for the effective management and governance of that continent, and had thus successfully guaranteed that it remained a region dedicated to peace, international cooperation and scientific endeavour. Since the General Assembly had last addressed the question during the fifty-first session in 1996, the Treaty continued to attract new members. Bulgaria had been welcomed, as the twenty-seventh Consultative Party in 1998 and earlier this year Venezuela had become the forty-fourth party to the Treaty. The ability to anticipate critical issues, and take action in advance of actual problems, had been a hallmark of the Treaty. But, the parties were well aware of further challenges ahead, and were not complacent.
Committee Work Programme
When the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this afternoon to begin its consideration of the question of Antarctica, it had before it a draft resolution and a report of the Secretary-General. The draft text on the question of Antarctica (document A/C.1/54/L.58) proposed by its Chairman, would have the General Assembly recognize that the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which provided for demilitarization of the continent, the prohibition of nuclear explosions and disposal of nuclear wastes, the freedom of scientific research, and the free exchange of scientific information, is in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
The Assembly would also welcome the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty on 14 January 1998, which has designated Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. Under further terms of the draft, the Assembly would recall the statement in Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), that States carrying out research activities in Antarctica continue to ensure that data and information resulting from such research are freely available to the international community, and enhance access of the international scientific community and specialized agencies of the United Nations to such data and information.
The Assembly would also welcome the invitations to the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to attend the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and welcome the regular extension of information by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to the Secretary-General on their meetings and activities in Antarctica.
The report of the Secretary-General (document A/54/339) surveys the role of the region in the global environmental system, outlines the activities of the Antarctic Treaty system and international bodies active within that system, and summarizes recent findings on the Antarctic environment.
As of 21 May 1999, the Antarctic Treaty which was adopted in 1959 and entered into force in 1961 has 44 States parties, of which 27 are consultative parties. Bulgaria obtained Consultative Party (voting) status in 1998, and Venezuela acceded to the Treaty on 24 March 1999.
The primary purpose of the Treaty is to ensure, in the interest of all mankind, that Antarctica should continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and should not become the scene or object of international discord. To that end, the Treaty prohibited any measures of a military nature, and froze the positions of States with regard to territorial sovereignty.
The Madrid Protocol was adopted and opened for signature on 4 October 1991, and entered into force on 14 January 1998. As of 21 May 1999, there were 28 parties to the Protocol, including all consultative parties and one non- consultative party, Greece. The main purpose of the Protocol is to provide for the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems. To that end, the Protocol designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, prohibits mineral resource activities other than scientific research, and sets principles and measures for the planning and conduct of all activities in the Antarctic Treaty area.
Agreements operating within the Antarctic Treaty system are: the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals; the Convention on the Conservation of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources; the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling; and the Global Change Programme Office established by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
The report describes scientific activities carried out under these agreements, including: new regulations introduced to reduce the risk of localized over-fishing; the establishment of working groups to deal with such questions as: glaciology; human biology and medicine; solar-terrestrial and astrophysical research; solid-earth geophysics; and infrastructural developments, including a new water treatment plant and a new energy system based on butane gas. Developments in intercontinental air access will extend the ability to fly personnel for short visits to the Antarctic beyond the traditional access points.
International organizations involved within the system, the report continues, are: the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition; the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators; the International Hydrographic Organization; the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission; the International Maritime Organization (IMO); the World Conservation Union; and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
According to the report, among the many activities carried out by these organizations are: hydrographic surveying expeditions, from which 9 new charts were scheduled for publication in 1998 and another 17 planned by the end of 2000; environmental impact studies in connection with the activities in the Antarctic; efforts to improve forecasting climate variability and change; and efforts to prevent and control marine pollution from ships.
Summarizing recent developments pertaining to the Antarctic environment, the report cites documented changes in Antarctica, including local climate warming (by about 2.5 degrees Celsius on the Antarctic Peninsula); loss of ice shelves and sea ice; increased ultraviolet radiation at the surface; changes in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems; declining penguin populations linked to changes in krill availability and sea-ice patterns; and changes in precipitation observed on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Cape Roberts project, established to investigate the history of geologic uplift and 100 million years of climate history, was postponed in 1996 as a result of unstable sea ice, the report states. It was able to resume a short drilling season the following year, and had a very successful season in 1998, collecting over 600 metres of core. In addition, permanent geodetic sites had been established in Antarctica for gravity, positional interferomteric, earth-tide and seismic measurements. A coordinated census of seals was carried out, and New Zealand was preparing a Ross Sea region state of the environment report by the year 2000, which may be used as a pilot for a continent-wide report.
Outlining the current status of safety operations, emergency response and contingency planning, the report found that approximately 40 per cent of Antarctic research stations had no oil-spill contingency plans. It also found that there had been an increase in the amount of marine debris in the Southern Ocean, including a continued accumulation of plastic packaging and a growing concern over the potential impact of fishing gear lost or abandoned by fishing vessels.
There was also a continued occurrence of the long-term depletion of total ozone over most of the southern hemisphere, according to the report, with stronger depletion nearer the Antarctic continent. There has been a corresponding increase in the component of ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth's surface. The Antarctic ozone hole of 1998 was broadly similar to those of recent years, although a little larger and longer-lasting, with a maximum extent of 25 million square kilometres. The region of enhanced ozone destruction is mainly confined to the area polewards from about latitude 60 degrees south.
In addition, the report states that illegal fishing was being carried out not only by non-contracting parties to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, but also by contracting parties. From 1997 to 1998, 45 sightings of illegal fishing vessels were reported. Large-scale whaling was also still being conducted in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary, though at present there was no known commercial sealing taking place in Antarctica.
According to the report, tourism to Antarctica continued to increase. In the past decade there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of shipborne tourists, most on large tour ships. The number of yacht visits to Antarctica had also steadily increased. An inventory of sites visited by tourists will provide the baseline information necessary to determine how best to minimize the environmental effects of tourism and non-governmental activities, although experts believe the continent will remain a specialized and relatively expensive niche destination.
In its concluding remarks, the report states that the Antarctic Treaty system continued to provide a unique example of international cooperation on the basis of international agreements. With the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol, human activities in Antarctica are being regulated to protect the environment and its dependent and associated ecosystems. The future entry into force of annex V to the Protocol, on area protection and management, confirms the commitment of the parties to the protection of this unique ecosystem.
There were, however, some issues of concern and possible challenges that will have to be addressed, the report concludes. Unregulated and illegal fishing threatens not only fish, but also other dependent and related species. No agreement has been reached on one or more annexes to the Madrid Protocol concerning liability for environmental damage. And tourism activities that present risks to the Antarctic marine and terrestrial environments need further regulation and monitoring.
Statements
KESTUSTIS SADAUSKAS (Lithuania) said the question of Antarctica had been initially included on the agenda of the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session in 1983. Even earlier, in 1959, the Antarctic Treaty had been concluded to ensure that the continent would be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and not become an object of international discord. Since then, the Consultative Parties had been meeting regularly and adopted a number of documents that had established legal norms to protect the Antarctic environment.
The Antarctic and its associated ecosystems, he said, played a critical role in the global environment. There was an intimate and unbreakable interdependence between that continent and the rest of the world. Major processes of interaction between the atmosphere, oceans, ice and biota affected the entire global system.
The principal environmental concerns in Antarctica, he said, were related to changes occurring at a global level, such as those related to the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. In the recent past, the Antarctic marine environment of whale and seal stocks had been exploited, leading to the near extinction of some species. While that exploitation had ceased, its impact was still evident.
There was a need for cooperation among States to preserve that content, he added. Long-range pollutants in Antarctica originated in the industrialized areas of the world and were transported in the upper atmosphere and ocean currents. Antarctica was an ideal laboratory in which to base monitoring activities for long-range pollutants. Also, it should forever be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and remain free of human and military installations.
The global importance of that environment was such that its state needed to be assessed periodically and comprehensively, he said. He welcomed the initiative now being taken by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research to develop proposals for a comprehensive report on the state of the Antarctic environment in the near future. Such a report would serve as a basis for further work of the Antarctic Treaty system.
He said that the newly established Committee for Environmental Protection would provide, advise and formulate recommendations on the implementation of the Protocol for consideration at the consultative meetings. He drew the Committees attention to the report of the Secretary-General which provided comprehensive and detailed information on the subject.
HASMY AGAM (Malaysia) said his delegation was pleased that, as a result of the Antarctica debate over the years, there was now far greater transparency and accountability of the activities of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. There was also greater United Nations involvement with the participation of UNEP. That had resulted in a better understanding by the international community of the issues relating to Antarctica and of the need to protect that pristine continent for the common benefit of mankind.
He said the Secretary-Generals report had provided updated information on the activities undertaken by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, the Antarctic Treaty system and several international bodies to promote the protection and preservation of that vast continent. It had also highlighted the state of the Antarctic environment and had further increased awareness of the need to protect that environment from the impact of human activities. He hoped the information-sharing by the Consultative Parties, begun some years ago, would become a regular feature.
He said his country welcomed the entry into force on 14 January 1998 of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection, as well as the designation of Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science, the prohibition of mineral resource activities and the setting of principles and measures for the conduct of all activities in the area. His country welcomed, in particular, the Protocols 50-year moratorium on prospecting and mining in Antarctica and hoped that was a first step towards a permanent ban on mining on the continent. Although the Protocol had much strength, however, it had no enforcement mechanism of its own, leaving it to each State party to enforce the provisions through national law.
Of the 27 members, he said only 11 had adopted the original legislation to implement the Protocol. Regrettably, some members of the Protocol had refused to recognize the right of the Committee for Environmental Protection to review environmental impact assessment, which was at the heart of the Protocol to ensure that impacts from human activities were minimized. The only institution created by the Protocol, the Committee for Environmental Protection had adopted guidelines for environmental impact assessment, although a dispute had arisen over how it could provide advice for major projects, such as the rebuilding of a new base at the South Pole. Concerns had also been expressed about tourism activities by non-consultative States that had yet to become party to the Madrid Protocol and were, thus, not subjected to environmental impact assessment requirements.
Moreover, he said, one legal loophole remained with regard to the Protocol, namely the provisions for liability for environmental damage had yet to be established, and States had been slow to implement a liability annex. There should be strict and unlimited liability, as a strict regime would send a clear message to the world that in Antarctica the protection of the environment was of paramount importance. The United Nations was the most appropriate authority to enforce, administer and monitor the various scientific and non- scientific activities in Antarctica.
The biggest current threat to the worlds greatest natural reserve was the burgeoning tourism industry, he said. The number of tourists visiting Antarctica had increased from less than 1,500 per year in the early 1980s to a projected 14,000 plus in the coming two years. In the last few years, commercial flights to the continent from Australia and New Zealand had also resumed. The high increase of visitors would have an impact on Antarcticas environment and wildlife. The World Tourism Organization should be involved in establishing a monitoring mechanism to ensure that ecotourism was regulated in an effective manner.
The various human activities, including a reported proliferation of scientific research stations in the last 50 years, had put pressure on the continents environment. It was doubtful that the continent would be able to cope with those impacts. The Rio Earth Summit of 1992 might be a distant memory, but its outcome had clearly demonstrated the will and commitment of the international community to address collectively the need to stem the environmental degradation of Antarctica. In that regard, he would urge the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to implement their commitments under the Antarctic Treaty and the relevant United Nations resolutions.
M.G. RICHARDSON (United Kingdom), speaking on behalf of the States parties to the Antarctic Treaty, said that the parties to the Antarctic Treaty were pleased that the current year marked the fortieth anniversary of the landmark signing of that Treaty by 12 States in 1959. During those 40 years a further 32 States had become parties to the Treaty.
The Treatys Consultative Parties had adopted numerous regulatory measures to provide for the effective management and governance of that continent, he continued. They had thus successfully guaranteed that the vast continent remained a region dedicated to peace, international cooperation and scientific endeavour.
He said that since the General Assembly had last addressed the question of Antarctica during the fifty-first session in 1996, the Treaty continued to attract new members. Bulgaria had been welcomed, as the twenty-seventh Consultative Party in 1998, and earlier this year Venezuela had become the forty-fourth party to the Treaty. Collectively, those States represented more than 80 per cent of the worlds population.
An important milestone during the past three years, he said, was the entry into force in January 1998 of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection. The Protocol designated the continent as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science and prescribed a series of environmental principles to govern human activities there. The Protocol subjected all activities in Antarctica to an environmental impact assessment. It also introduced an indefinite prohibition on mineral resource activities there. It provided stringent rules on waste management, and included measures to prevent marine pollution and new provisions to protect Antarcticas wildlife.
He said that the Protocol had also established a Committee for Environmental Protection as a primary body to give advice for consideration at consultative meetings on the implementation of the Protocol. The parties emphasized the work of this Committee in setting procedures regarding environmental impact assessments. The Committee would, therefore, play an increasingly important role in the operation of the Treaty.
In addition, Treaty parties had already undertaken steps to ensure practical implementation of the Protocol well ahead of its entry into force. The principal impetus behind the success and ongoing development of the Treaty were the meetings of the Consultative Parties. Since the fifty-first General Assembly, three such meetings had been convened. At each, further steps were undertaken to strengthen the regulatory framework for the protection of the Antarctic environment. The Antarctic Treaty and its parties had successfully met varied challenges faced over the past 40 years, and demonstrated their ability to deal with changing situations. The ability of States parties to anticipate critical issues, and to take action in advance of actual problems had been a hallmark of the Treaty. But, the parties were well aware of further challenges ahead and were not complacent.
There were grave concerns, he went on, at the scale of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean. As a consequence, stocks of this important species were under threat. Unsustainable levels of mortality of globally important seabirds, principally albatrosses and petrels, were also occurring. Recognizing the problem, the Consultative Parties lent their support to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources for the introduction of further regulatory measures.
The parties were also closely watching the issue of tourism, he said. They were concerned at the trend towards larger passenger vessels operating in the waters below 60 degrees south. A meeting of experts would be convened in April 2000 to elaborate guidelines for Antarctic shipping and related activities.
Antarctica, he said, remained the only demilitarized continent in the world. And, it should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. It was unclear what the next 40 years would bring, but the Treaty parties looked to the Treaty and the system of regulations developed under it as the means to provide the effective governance and management of that vitally important part of the planet.
The draft resolution on the Question of Antarctica (document A/C.1/54/L.58) was approved without a vote.
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