Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on the contributors
- Preface and acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
- PART I LEVELS OF REGULATION IN THE PROTECTION OF THE POLAR MARINE ENVIRONMENT
- 1 Globalism and regionalism in the protection of the marine environment
- 2 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the polar marine environment
- 3 Global environmental protection instruments and the polar marine environment
- 4 The polar marine environment in regional cooperation
- 5 Protection of the Antarctic environment against marine pollution under the 1991 Protocol
- 6 Sub-regional cooperation and protection of the Arctic marine environment: the Barents Sea
- 7 Domestic perspectives and regulations in protecting the polar marine environment: Australia, Canada and the United States
- PART II CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES IN PROTECTING THE POLAR MARINE ENVIRONMENT
- Index of international instruments and national legislation
- Subject index
5 - Protection of the Antarctic environment against marine pollution under the 1991 Protocol
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on the contributors
- Preface and acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
- PART I LEVELS OF REGULATION IN THE PROTECTION OF THE POLAR MARINE ENVIRONMENT
- 1 Globalism and regionalism in the protection of the marine environment
- 2 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the polar marine environment
- 3 Global environmental protection instruments and the polar marine environment
- 4 The polar marine environment in regional cooperation
- 5 Protection of the Antarctic environment against marine pollution under the 1991 Protocol
- 6 Sub-regional cooperation and protection of the Arctic marine environment: the Barents Sea
- 7 Domestic perspectives and regulations in protecting the polar marine environment: Australia, Canada and the United States
- PART II CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES IN PROTECTING THE POLAR MARINE ENVIRONMENT
- Index of international instruments and national legislation
- Subject index
Summary
On 4 October 1991 the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was adopted and opened for signature by the Antarctic Treaty Parties in Madrid. Coming after two years of negotiations, this instrument with its attendant five annexes represents one of the most comprehensive multilateral environmental agreements yet promulgated. It embodies a legal blueprint for protection and preservation of the Antarctic. No less important, the Protocol also signals a profound shift – indeed a reversal in course – in Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties' aspirations for the Antarctic. In the late 1980s the policy direction of the Consultative Party group still appeared headed towards possible exploration and potential exploitation of Antarctic minerals. By 1991, however, that course had been diverted toward a general commitment of legal obligation to protecting and conserving the continent and its circumpolar seas.
A critical aim of the Protocol is to prevent marine pollution in the Antarctic Treaty area. This chapter examines how and to what extent the Protocol contributes to the general international law against marine pollution as applied in the Southern Ocean. To that end, the first section of the chapter briefiy considers how marine pollution occurs in the Antarctic, and what legal framework is already in place for dealing with it internationally. The second section assesses the Protocol as a legal instrument for preventing marine pollution. Particular attention here is given to the innovative anti-pollution qualities of the Protocol, its obligatory characteristics and its enforcement capabilities.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Protecting the Polar Marine EnvironmentLaw and Policy for Pollution Prevention, pp. 104 - 123Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
- 1
- Cited by