Regulation of Mineral Resource Activities in Antarctica

Abstract

Mineral resource activities in Antarctica were brought to the agenda at the 6th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) held in Tokyo for the first time in 1970. The Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA), which regulates the issue in detail, could not enter into force after France and Australia decided not to sign the Convention. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (PEPAT) was signed after the Special ATCMs that took place in Madrid in 1991 to review the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol entered into force on 14 January 1998, after the ratification of all Consultative Parties. PEPAT, which does not modify the Antarctic Treaty in any way, is among the legal documents within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) as its annex. Unlike CRAMRA, with the provision of PEPAT Article 7, mineral resource activities are completely prohibited. The only exception to the related prohibition is mineral resource activities for scientific research. This does not mean that the mentioned activities will be carried out in an unlimited way. These activities are subject to PEPAT and Annex 1 Environmental Impact Assessment. Continuity of the absolute prohibition of mineral resource activities is a significant issue. Accordingly, in accordance with Article 25/1 of PEPAT, provisions of the PEPAT may be modified or amended by the unanimous agreement of the Consultative Parties including Article 7. Apart from this, in the ongoing paragraph of the same article, after the expiration of 50 years from the date of entry into force of PEPAT, this period corresponds to 2048, a conference will be held to review the functioning of PEPAT with the notification of any of the Consultative Parties. It was envisaged that the proposed amendments to the PEPAT at the Review Conference would be adopted by a majority of the Parties, including 3/4 of the States which are Consultative Parties at the time of PEPAT's entry into force (1998), including Article 7, which prohibits mineral resource activities. When signed, PEPAT, which is considered to be difficult to enter into force since all of the Consultative Parties' approval has to be given, took effect in line with the emergence of the common interest in this direction. This shows the Consultative Parties' commitment to the protection of Antarctica and especially the prohibition of mineral resource activities. The determination in question was once again expressed by the Declaration published after the 32nd ATCM and the Resolution adopted in the 39th ATCM, although they were not legally binding. Especially in the Resolution, the emphasis on both the continuity of the prohibition on mineral resource activities and the incorrect belief in the media that PEPAT will be expired in 2048 is noteworthy.