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Guidance for those
Organising and Conducting Tourism and Non-governmental
Activities in the Antarctic
Recommendation XVIII-1, adopted at
the Antarctic Treaty Meeting, Kyoto, 1994
Antarctica is the largest wilderness
area on earth, unaffected by large scale human activities.
Accordingly, this unique and pristine environment
has been afforded special protection. Furthermore,
it is physically remote, inhospitable, unpredictable
and potentially dangerous. All activities in the Antarctic
Treaty Area, therefore, should be planned and conducted
with both environmental protection and safety in mind.
Activities in the Antarctic are subject
to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and associated legal
instruments, referred to collectively as the Antarctic
Treaty system. These include the Convention for the
Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS' 1972), the
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (CCAMLR' 1980) and the Recommendations
and other measures adopted by the Antarctic Treaty
Consultative Parties under the Antarctic Treaty.
In 1991, the Consultative Parties to
the Antarctic Treaty adopted the Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. This Protocol
sets out environmental principles, procedures and
obligations for the comprehensive protection of the
Antarctic environment, and its dependent and associated
ecosystems. The Consultative Parties have agreed that,
pending its entry into force, as far as possible and
in accordance with their legal systems, that the provisions
of the Protocol should be applied as appropriate.
The Environmental Protocol designates
Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and
science, and applies to both governmental and non-governmental
activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area. The Protocol
seeks to ensure that human activities, including tourism,
do not have adverse impacts on the Antarctic environment,
nor on its scientific and aesthetic values.
The Protocol states, as a matter of
principle, that all activities are to be planned and
conducted on the basis of information sufficient to
evaluate their possible impact on the Antarctic environment
and its associated ecosystems, and on the value of
Antarctica for the conduct of scientific research.
Organisers should be aware that the Environmental
Protocol requires that "activities shall be modified,
suspended or cancelled if they result in or threaten
to result in impacts upon the Antarctic environment
or dependent or associated ecosystems."
Those responsible for organising and
conducting tourism and non governmental activities
must comply fully with national laws and regulations
which implement the Antarctic Treaty system, as well
as other national laws and regulations implementing
international agreements on environmental protection,
pollution and safety that relate to the Antarctic
Treaty Area. They should also abide by the requirements
imposed on organisers and operators under the Protocol
on Environmental Protection and its Annexes, in so
far as they have not yet been implemented in national
law.
Key
Obligations On Organisers and Operators
- Provide prior notification of, and reports on,
their activities to the competent authorities of
the appropriate Party or Parties.
- Conduct an assessment of the potential environmental
impacts of their planned activities.
- Provide for effective response to environmental
emergencies, especially with regard to marine pollution.
- Ensure self-sufficiency and safe operations.
- Respect scientific research and the Antarctic
environment,including restrictions regarding protected
areas, and the protection of flora and fauna.
- Prevent the disposal and discharge of prohibited
waste.
Procedures
to be Followed by Organisers and Operators A.
When planning to go to the Antarctic - Organisers
and operators should:
- Notify the competent national authorities of the
appropriate Party or Parties of details of their
planned activities with sufficient time to enable
the Party(ies) to comply with their information
exchange obligations under Article VII(5) of the
Antarctic Treaty. The information to be provided
is listed in Attachment A.
- Conduct an environmental assessment in accordance
with such procedures as may have been established
in national law to give effect to Annex I of the
Protocol, including, if appropriate, how potential
impacts will be monitored.
- Obtain timely permission from the national authorities
responsible for any stations they propose to visit.
- Provide information to assist in the preparation
of: contingency response plans in accordance with
Article 15 of the Protocol; waste management plans
in accordance with Annex III of the Protocol; and
marine pollution contingency plans in accordance
with Annex IV of the Protocol.
- Ensure that expedition leaders and passengers
are aware of the location and special regimes which
apply to Specially Protected Areas and Sites of
Special Scientific Interest (and on entry into force
of the Protocol, Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas) and of Historic
Sites and Monuments and, in particular, relevant
management plans.
- Obtain a permit, where required by national law,
from the competent national authority of the appropriate
Party or Parties, should they have a reason to enter
such areas, or a monitoring site (CEMP Site) designated
under CCAMLR.
- Ensure that activities are fully self-sufficient
and do not require assistance from Parties unless
arrangements for it have been agreed in advance.
- Ensure that they employ experienced and trained
personnel, including a sufficient number of guides.
- Arrange to use equipment, vehicles, vessels, and
aircraft appropriate to Antarctic operations.
- Be fully conversant with applicable communications,
navigation, air traffic control and emergency procedures.
- Obtain the best available maps and hydrographic
charts, recognising that many areas are not fully
or accurately surveyed.
- Consider the question of insurance (subject to
requirements of national law).
- Design and conduct information and education programmes
to ensure that all personnel and visitors are aware
of relevant provisions of the Antarctic Treaty system.
- Provide visitors with a copy of the Guidance for
Visitors to the Antarctic.
B. When in the Antarctic Treaty
Area - Organisers and operators should:
- Comply with all requirements of the Antarctic
Treaty system,and relevant national laws, and ensure
that visitors are aware of requirements that are
relevant to them.
- Reconfirm arrangements to visit stations 24-72
hours before their arrival and ensure that visitors
are aware of any conditions or restrictions established
by the station.
- Ensure that visitors are supervised by a sufficient
number of guides who have adequate experience and
training in Antarctic conditions and knowledge of
the Antarctic Treaty system requirements.
- Monitor environmental impacts of their activities,
if appropriate, and advise the competent national
authorities of the appropriate Party or Parties
of any adverse or cumulative impacts resulting from
an activity, but which were not foreseen by their
environmental impact assessment.
- Operate ships, yachts, small boats, aircraft,
hovercraft, and all other means of transport safely
and according to appropriate procedures, including
those set out in the Antarctic Flight Information
Manual (AFIM).
- Dispose of waste materials in accordance with
Annex III and IV of the Protocol. These annexes
prohibit, among other things, the discharge of plastics,
oil and noxious substances into the Antarctic Treaty
Area; regulate the discharge of sewage and food
waste; and require the removal of most wastes from
the area.
- Co-operate fully with observers designated by
Consultative Parties to conduct inspections of stations,
ships, aircraft and equipment under Article VII
of the Antarctic Treaty, and those to be designated
under Article 14 of the Environmental Protocol.
- Co-operate in monitoring programmes undertaken
in accordance with Article 3(2)(d) of the Protocol.
- Maintain a careful and complete record of their
activities conducted.
C. On completion of the activities
Within three months of the end of the
activity, organisers and operators should report on
the conduct of it to the appropriate national authority
in accordance with national laws and procedures. Reports
should include the name, details and state of registration
of each vessel or aircraft used and the name of their
captain or commander; actual itinerary; the number
of visitors engaged in the activity; places, dates
and purposes of landings and the number of visitors
landed on each occasion; any meteorological observations
made, including those made as part of the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) Voluntary Observing Ships Scheme;
any significant changes in activities and their impacts
from those predicted before the visit was conducted;
and action taken in case of emergency.
D. Antarctic Treaty System Documents
and Information Most Antarctic
Treaty Parties can provide, through their national
contact points, copies of relevant provisions of the
Antarctic Treaty system and information about national
laws and procedures, including:
- The Antarctic Treaty (1959)
- Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (1980)
- Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic
Treaty (1991)
- Recommendations and other measures adopted under
the Antarctic Treaty
- Final Reports of Consultative Meetings
- Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System (1994)
- Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System (in Spanish,
1991)
Attachment A
Information to be Provided in
Advance Notice
Organisers should provide the following information
to the appropriate national authorities in the format
requested.
- Name, nationality, and contact details of the
organiser;
- Where relevant, registered name and national registration
and type of any vessel or aircraft to be used (including
name of the captain or commander, call-sign, radio
frequency, INMARSAT number);
- Intended itinerary including the date of departure
and places to be visited in the Antarctic Treaty
Area;
- Activities to be undertaken and purpose;
- Number and qualifications of crew and accompanying
guides and expedition staff;
- Estimated number of visitors to be carried;
- Carrying capacity of vessel;
- Intended use of vessel;
- Intended use and type of aircraft;
- Number and type of other vessels, including small
boats, to be used in the Antarctic Treaty Area;
- Information about insurance coverage;
- Details of equipment to be used, including for
safety purposes,and arrangements for self-sufficiency;
- And other matters required by national laws.
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