| Description: |
This component of the Antarctic Treaty System sets forth environmental principles to govern Antarctic activities. The Protocol designates Antarctica as a natural reserve and prohibits all activities related to mineral resources other than scientific research. The Environment Protocol has six Annexes. Annex 1, Environmental Impact Assessment, Annex II, Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora, Annex III, Waste Disposal and Waste Management, and Annex IV, Prevention of Marine Pollution, were adopted together with the Protocol itself. The Protocol and the first four annexes entered into force on January 14, 1998. Annex V on Area Protection and Management was adopted by the 16th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Bonn on 17 October, 1991 and entered into force on 24 May, 2002. An annex on liability, which had been foreseen in Article 16 of the Protocol, was adopted as Annex VI, Liability Arising From Environmental Emergencies, by the 28th ATCM in Stockholm on June 14, 2005 and is being ratified by the Consultative Parties.
Article 11 of the Protocol creates the Committee for Environmental Protection.
The Antarctic Treaty database provides access to the text of the protocol and all six annexes. |
