Conservation Law in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean: the Antarctic Treaty System, conservation, and environmental protection

The Antarctic Treaty System provides the corpus of law thatgoverns the obligations of its Parties to protect and conserve theAntarctic environment. The System consists principally of theAntarctic Treaty (the Treaty), the Convention on the Conservationof Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention), andthe Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty(Environmental Protocol). The Antarctic Treaty establishes theAntarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting the body that makesdecisions under the provisions of the Treaty and EnvironmentalProtocol. The CAMLR Convention establishes the Commission forthe Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) its decision-making body. Together, these two internationalbodies are responsible for the modern-day conservation andenvironmental management regimes for Antarctica and theSouthern Ocean. This paper looks at the scope of law developedunder the Antarctic Treaty System and its evolution; and at theinteraction between the different components of the AntarcticTreaty System. The paper also forecasts some of the futurechallenges to conservation and environmental protection inAntarctica and the Southern Ocean