The laws governing Antarctica

Signatories of the Antarctic Treaty.  Orange countries have consulting (voting) status and have made a claim to Antarctic territory.  Yellow countries have consulting status and reserve the right to make a claim.  Blue countries have consulting status.  Green countries have signed but do not have consulting status.

Current Conditions:  Con3.  Temp 7°F (-14° with windchill).  Cloudy.  Population = 916

My college roommate, Martha, asked me a bit about the law down here.  So here is my completely amateur take on the legal aspects of McMurdo and coming to the continent.

To McMurdians, there is one law in Antarctica--the NSF.  If you don't want to play the game according to the NSF's rules, you will be sent home.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  So far, I know of at least four people sent home for NSF violations--one for intimate partner violence (good one there), one for sleep walking into someone else's room and falling asleep on their sofa, one for underage drinking (a single beer) and one for being drunk on the job. Public inebriation (or showing up in the clinic with a hangover) or taking any elicit substance are  causes for a quick "adios".  Rumor has it that in previous years people have even been sent home for inconsistently washing their hands before entering the galley.  The NSF takes no prisoners and gives no second chances.  

The NSF itself adheres strictly to both US and international law stemming from the Antarctic Treaty and its subsequent addenda (not the legal term, I'm sure, but I'm not a lawyer).   The provisions of the international documents have been been incorporated lock, stock and barrel into US law as well.  Any violation of the Antarctic treaty provisions by an American is a violation of US law and punishable by the US government.   

The original Antarctic Treaty, written in the Geophysical Year (1957) when Antarctica was traversed by an international team, and approved in 1961, is quite short and simple (the original document can be found here).  Within the 14 articles are three major point pertaining to all land south of 60°S:

• The continent is to be used for peaceful purposes only.   To ensure countries are adhering to this principle, all bases are open to inspection by other nations.
• Activities on the continent are for the pursuit of science.  All scientific data collected must to be made freely available.
• No nuclear explosions and no nuclear waste permitted.

Seven countries had laid claim to portions of Antarctica prior to the Antarctic Treaty.  These countries were either adjacent to the continent (Chile, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand) , did much of the early exploration (UK and Norway) or were simply being French (France).  It's not clear to me whether these claims mean anything since they have not been accepted by the international community.  Some of the claims overlap and lots of international bases exist within other countries' claims.  McMurdo Station, for example, is on the New Zealand claim.  New claims (US, Russia, Uruguay, Brazil) are being made even though the Antarctic treaty forbids them.   So for now, this is all a kind of nebulous, international laissé-faire.  Lets see if that changes once global warming turns Antarctica into either farmland or a gold mine.

Although fifty-three countries have signed on to the Antarctic Treaty, only the 29 consulting countries (see picture at top) meet annually to operationalize the original treaty, creating the "Antarctic Treaty System".  The UN and environmental NGO's also participate. Agreements made at these meetings have had an out-sized impact on life around the continent.  Most important is the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991) signed by 45 countries, including the US.  Provisions consolidated in these amendments include:

• All waste of any sort--human, chemical, biological--must be removed from the continent.  The Great Explorers and the mid-20th century adventurers just dumped all their waste on the sea ice or wherever it was convenient on land.  In 2001, in the water of the 0.2 sq km Winter Quarters Bay, McMurdo's tiny port, inspectors found 15 vehicles, 26 shipping containers, 603 fuel drums and 1000 other items.  Sediments yielded PCBs, heavy metals and hydrocarbon fuels.  At that time, our bay was reported to have "the highest toxic concentrations of any body of water on Earth". Yippee for environmental laws!  And thank you Green Peace for pushing this regulation.
• No Antarctic bird or mammal can be captured or killed without a science permit.  Seals have particularly strong protection. 
• Fishing can only be conducted under strict regulation by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). 
• Special protected areas (ASPAs) have extremely limited access.  Extant ASPA's include roosting/breeding areas, areas of special biological or geological interest, and even the explorer huts.
• No mining.  We are told we can't even remove a small stone from Antarctica as a souvenir.  Erebus crystals are prized but must remain here.
• No importation of non-native species to the continent (the death knell for Dean's plot to smuggle in our cat).

Various subcommittees--e.g., the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research--oversee adherence to the agreements.  The US government--which, according to the State Department website, has more personnel based in Antarctica than any other country(!)-- has ensured adherence to the Antarctic Treaty through the Antarctic Conservation Act (1978 and amended in 1996).   The US approach to Antarctica can be gleaned from either the State Department website since it monitors adherence to the Treaty system, or from the Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty. Any US citizen can travel here but must give at least three months notice to the State Department and fill out lengthy forms before and after travel showing how they will meet/met their legal obligations.  Usually, this process is done by tour companies.  Compliance is not easy.

All-in-all, I feel lucky to be here.  Dean and Chris Martinez calculated that only 100,000 or so people have "lived" on the continent since the Norwegian whaler, Carsten Borchgrevink, and his nine-man crew tragically overwintered here 120 years ago.   It is quite a privilege.