Importance of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

Antarctica is a completely frozen landmass. It is located in the extreme south of the planet and has 14 million square kilometers (if it were a country, it would be the second largest in the world after Russia). In this territory the temperatures are extremely cold and with very intense winds, for which reason the training of human settlements. Despite this, there are scientific bases from more than thirty countries.

The Antarctic Treaty aims to guarantee the environmental protection of this territory

In 1959 a total of twelve countries signed an agreement on Antarctica. The signatory nations were Australia, Argentina, Belgium, USA, Chile, Japan, France, Norway, New Zealand, Great Britain, South Africa and Russia. The first article of the treaty states that this territory must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.

To promote scientific cooperation between research teams investigation there is a commitment to exchange information. An important section is the prohibition of any experiment or nuclear explosion. Military exercises of any kind are also prohibited.

Land claims are not addressed in the guidelines

This immense territory is not politically integrated into any nation. However, there are several nations that claim a part of the territory of Antarctica (New Zealand, Great Britain, France, Australia, Chile and Argentina, among others). These claims have an obvious geostrategic value, since it is a territory with great potential in many ways: for water reserves, due to its proximity to interoceanic routes or the possibilities of finding new sources of energy.

Most research is related to climate change

On the white continent, investigations of nature very diverse. The responsible scientific body is the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, better known by its acronym SCAR (this organization was created a year before the Antarctic Treaty itself).

The scientific community investigates the relationship between atmospheric changes and the oceans, the different ecosystems, the geological processes of the ice cap and the water reserves potable. The gradual loss of ice and its consequences is one of the issues that most concern specialists in the climate change.

Apart from these issues, there are specific programs to protect animals from ecosystem Antarctic, such as the emperor penguin, the Foss seal, the skuas or the blue whale (in the ocean Antarctic there is a small crustacean known as krill, which is the food base of many species).

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