Antarctica - Environmental idealism versus national self-interest?

RUSI Journal, Jun 1997, Vol. 142, No. 3 By I M Martin
Legal regulations concerning the exploitation of natural resources in Antarctica
are constantly being del eloped, with the the Protocol on Environmental
Protection (1991) the latest addition. It was not until the 1950s that
international agreements were seen as necessary, largely as a result of the
strategic value assigned to the Antarctic during the Second World War. The area
was thought to have great scientific potential previously unexplored
Wing Commander Martin here lays out the continuing development of legal
regulations on the Antarctic. These have largely resulted from concern over the
increasing number of attempts made by claimant nations to extract and exploit
the minerals which are thought to exist in the region. Though recogsising that
considerable work has been done towards the setting-up of a regulator_4r system
to protect the environment in the Antarctic contesting views that hold the 1991
Environmental Protocol as the definitive answer to the threat of commercial
mineral exploitation in the area, concluding that in a contest involving
environmental idealism any legislation is liable to fall pray to the demands of
national self-determination.

Wing Commander I Martin graduated from the Joint Service Defence College at
Greenwich in November 1996. His current appointment is Support Management 62 (RAF) at HQ Logistics Command, with respontibilitv for the support of the Jaguar and Canberra aircraft. This article is based on a paper written during his time at the Joint Service Defence College.

Further Analysis: Law and Ethics, Climate Security, Global Security Issues

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