The Antarctic Environment and International Law

The Antarctic is symbolic of the wider challenge facing the progressive development of the international legal order. How can the law ensure a balance between economic growth (and the attendant exploitation of natural resources) and environmental protection (requiring the wise and sustainable use of limited natural resources)? the contribution of science, of new institutional structures and of the non-governmental sector towards effective law-making, administrative and enforcement processes present a major challenge. This volume, inspired by a major symposium held in Brussels in October 1990, crystallizes the response of leading representatives of the legal, governmental, scientific and political communities and represents a significant new contribution to legal thought and practice, at a time when the international community has recognized the inadequacies of the international rules relating to the protection of natural resources and the environment.

The Antarctic system in crisis; the exploitation of Antarctic mineral resources; risks and stakes; the Antarctic fauna - the threats and their control; the functioning of the Antarctic marine eco-system - a fragile equilibrium; the Antarctic treaty regime - a model for international environmental law?; the 1988 Wellington convention - how much environmental protection?; the Antarctic - common heritage of mankind?; new proposal - the natural park; the Antarctic - the issue of environmental protection; the Antarctic and the Arctic; the Antarctic and the law of the sea; the EEC and the Antarctic; the Antarctic - a challenge to global environmental policy; Greenpeace; a political viewpoint; a proposal; general conclusions; subsequent developments. Appendix: protocol on environmental protection to the Antarctic treaty. Annexes I to V and Final Act (1991).