Antarctica—environmental idealism versus national self‐interest?

Abstract

Legal regulations concerning the exploitation of natural resources in Antarctica are constantly being developed, with the Protocol on Environmental Protection (1991) the latest addition. It was not until the 1950s that international agreements were seen as necessary, largely as a result of the strategic value assigned to the Antarctic during the Second World War. The area was thought to have great scientific potential previously unexplored. Wing Commander Martin here lays out the continuing development of legal regulations on the Antarctic These have largely resulted from concern over the increasing number of attempts made by claimant nations to extract and exploit the minerals which are thought to exist in the region. Though recognising that considerable work has been done, towards the setting‐up of a regulatory system to protect the environment in the Antarctic, contesting views that hold the 1991 Environmental Protocol as the definitive‐answer to the threat of commercial mineral exploitation in the area, concluding that in a contest involving environmental idealism any legislation is liable to fall pray to the demands of national self‐determination.