13 June: Environmental negotiations completed and tourism negotiations opened
The Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) has completed its environmental negotiations and its final report will be adopted formally this week. During Monday, the Antarctic Treaty parties continued negotiations on how to solve liability issues in the event of an accident. These are important issues in public international law that are of great importance for the effective and environmentally sustainable management of Antarctica in the future. On Monday negotiations also opened on tourism in Antarctica and questions concerning the work programme and resources of the international Antarctic Secretariat in Buenos Aires.
Negotiations on liability continued on Monday
Yves Frenot, vice chair, Tony Press, chair, and Anna Carin Thomér, vice chair of the Committee for Environmental Protection
Environmental report presented to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
The Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) has concluded the environmental negotiations and today presented its report to the ACTM for formal adoption later in the week. At its meeting in Stockholm the CEP has agreed to appoint a steering group for future environmental challenges in Antarctica.
"I am sure this is a decision that has been eagerly awaited by many people," says Tony Press, CEP chair. "At our meetings we are often faced with a host of agenda issues and decisions and it can be difficult to shift perspective and address the important, long-term issues concerning future environmental work in Antarctica. At this meeting we have succeeded in putting long-term strategic work on the agenda, largely thanks to the initiative taken by Sweden.
This work will result in a strategy to secure the environmentally sustainable management of Antarctica. The strategy will deal with how to manage future environmental challenges in Antarctica, both in the short and in the long term. The steering group will also identify the future role and responsibilities of the CEP. Work on the strategy will be prepared by a steering group ahead of the CEP meeting in the United Kingdom next year.
Another important decision at the CEP concerned the question of monitoring and reporting the state of the environment in Antarctica. For the first time tests will be made of a number of indicators that will form the basis for a report on the state of the Antarctic environment - the Statistical Environmental Report. Yves Frenot, newly elected vice chair from France, is also the convenor of the International Contact Group (ICG) for monitoring and reporting.
"To work on monitoring, you need a number of measurable indicators. There are a number of physical and biological indicators, and by next year's meeting in the United Kingdom the Contact Group will formulate a proposal for biological indicators that we can consider in order to develop the CEP's Statistical Environmental Report (SER).
Negotiations on tourism in Antarctica opened
Tourism in Antarctica Photo: IAATO
On Monday the ATCM opened negotiations on tourism in Antarctica. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) was formed in 1991 and its membership is increasing, as is Antarctic tourism as a whole. IAATO's aim is to be a joint organisation for all tour operators and to contribute to safe and environmentally friendly tourism in Antarctica. Each year IAATO publishes a report on tourism in Antarctica that is laid before the ATCM. For several years the number of tourists remained stable at around 13 000, but today the number is in excess of 30 000, which obviously affects the environment in the long run.
Olle Melander, Swedish Tourist Authority
Important issues the meeting will discuss include how to regulate tourism in Antarctica. Another issue is what regulatory framework tourist operations should fall under and how to ensure that all operators comply with the regulations.
"There are a number of proposals on how to regulate tourism in Antarctica," says Olle Melander of the Swedish Tourist Authority. "One is to establish some form of accreditation or certification for tour operators, based on certain requirements such as knowledge and experience of the special conditions in Antarctica. Another is to draw up special guidelines for various places around Antarctica (Site Specific Guidelines). These may, for instance, mean that people are only permitted to go ashore at certain places at certain points in time and that there must be one guide for a specified number of tourists."
Denise Landau, head of IAATO, and Kom Croshle, IAATO
In addition to IAATO, UNEP, the UN Environment Programme, and ASOC, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, are following the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. ASOC brings together some 240 environmental organisations in 40 countries around the world.
"IAATO is hoping for a constructive dialogue between Treaty parties and the organisations that work in or are involved in Antarctica in various ways. These are important decisions that need to be taken jointly in order to ensure sustainable Antarctic tourism in the future. One of the challenges for IAATO is the operators that do not join our organisation," says Denise Landau, Executive Director of IAATO.
