Speaking at the opening of the 35th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ACTM) in Hobart, Tasmania, former PM Bob Hawke was passionate as he described his role in helping secure the 1989 Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection. The meeting brings together 49 signatory nations, of which 28 are “consultative parties” which, like Britain, carry out research activity in the Antarctic. Australia hosted the first ACTM in 1961, the year the Treaty came into force, with just 12 member states. The Antarctic Treaty system now includes a number of other international agreements, including the Madrid Protocol and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The Antarctic has been much in the public eye this year with major centenaries marked in both Britain and Australia. In London, there was a memorial service in St Paul’s Cathedral in March to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of “Scott of the Antarctic”. And Australia is staging a number of events to commemorate the centenary of its first Antarctic exhibition led by Yorkshire-born Douglas Mawson, including an exhibition at the National Archives in Canberra.
The UK’s delegation consists of experts from the FCO and the British Antarctic Survey. I had visited BAS’s HQ in Cambridge on my last visit to the UK in May. It is a remarkable institution with some 400 staff, which runs 3 research bases on the Antarctic and 2 on South Georgia. To support them it operates 2 ships and 5 aircraft. They carry out ground breaking research across a wide variety of disciplines, including geophysics, glaciology, geology, biology and climate science. Antarctica plays a vital role in contributing to our understanding of climate change. The continent also significantly influences the world’s weather and ocean systems.
The Hobart meeting is aiming to agree a multi-year strategic work plan. In addition to the scientific panels, there will also be discussions on how to regulate growing Antarctic tourism, vessel safety, and remediating the Antarctic environment. As the UK is one of the most active players in the Antarctic, our delegation is facing a busy week. Having studied geography at university, like the UK’s delegation leader Jane Rumble, I was fascinated to have an opportunity to join them for a day.