Regulating international tourism in Antarctica to protect the environment

International Regulation of Tourism in Antarctica

Since the mid-1980s, Antarctica has been an increasingly popular tourist destination, despite the relative danger of visiting the largest, least explored -- and arguably least understood -- continent on earth. Beginning with the 1959 treaty establishing Antarctica as an international zone free of claims of sovereignty by nation's that had been instrumental in establishing research stations there, there has been almost constant negotiation about how to administer regulations pertaining to the preservation of life forms on the continent, what those regulations should be, and what sanctions should be applied and by whom.

To understand the depths of the negotiations, and the potential for discord, it is necessary to understand what the continent offer the 65% of global nations that are party to the 1959 and all subsequent treaties. To understand the possible future of Antarctica, it is necessary to outline treaty attempts to minimize commercial interests based on extraction of natural resources and on fishing, while not really providing much incentive for tourism, either, except if that tourism is subordinate to environmental interests as defined by treaty.

This paper exposes all the current situations obtaining in Antarctica regarding mineral extraction, fishing, environmental concerns and the increasingly important addition of tourism, and it assesses and makes recommendations regarding the best ways to regulate international tourism to minimize its effect on the fragile Antarctic environment at present.

I: Introduction and Statement of the Problem