Framework for Environmental Protection in the Antarctic Treaty
System Environmental Protection and Conservation in the
Antarctic Treaty System The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959
and came into force in 1961. At this time, environmental issues
were not as important as they are now. However, the Treaty went
some way towards protecting the environment by banning nuclear
explosions, radioactive waste disposal and the establishment of
military bases. During the forty years since the Antarctic
Treaty came into force, four additional conventions and
protocols have been agreed by the Antarctic Treaty nations
creating what is now called the Antarctic Treaty System. All of
these agreements relate to the conservation of the environment,
and Antarctica is now one of the best-protected areas in the
world. The conventions are: - The Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991) - The Convention for
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
(1982) - The Convention for the Conse