Antarctica: The Battle for »Frozen Land«

Antarctica, the windiest, driest, coldest and most isolated place in the world. At the first glance not really attractive continent but nevertheless many states have shown interest and have laid claim to parts of Antarctica. Why?

In the 19th century the so called “Seventh continent” has become attractive to many states in the international community. Antarctica was a continent without a native population which means that its territory officially did not belong to anyone. In this era of 19th century, Antarctica was more or less captured in mystery and it was not really known what is hidden under the thick layers of ice. Territorial interests and scientific curiosity were firstly the main reason why the states wanted to spread on this area. Later on, the territory of Antarctica was also used for the purposes of training military personnel and testing equipment in frigid conditions.

Great Britain, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina are seven states who were the first ones with territorial claims. Due to Cold War, Soviet Union and United States of America were too busy to take any sort of action related to Antarctica, so they did not make any claim land on its land in that time, but they expressed that they have a right to do so in the future. This conversations were a starting point for the creation of the Antarctic Treaty.

The Antarctic Treaty was signed by twelve countries (above mentioned plus Japan, Union of South Africa and Belgium) on 1 December 1959, whose scientists have already been exploring the continent. With the entry into force in 1961, the Treaty become a part of international law and with this it sets the stage for the development of further measures. Until today, 53 countries acceded to the Treaty.

The first Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Parliament House in Hobart in 1961

Antarctic Treaty System - logo

The main objective contained in the Treaty is to ensure “in the interests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord”. According to the Treaty, military presence, mining and nuclear explosions are prohibited. The land of Antarctica shall be used only for scientific investigations and cooperation with United Nations and other international organizations. To the Antarctic Treaty system were later added documents that contributed to the regulation of Antarctic’s territory: Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals.

Despite all these accepted measures which regulate the territory of Antarctica, there are still some loopholes that should be addressed. After years of research, scientists presume that Antarctica is in fact continent very rich in mineral even more, some whispers appeared suggesting the amount of oil under the ice could be greater far more than one in Abu Dhabi or Kuwait. The oil was and still is a major driver of competition between states in international community therefore the temptation to exploit the mineral resources in Antarctica could certainly rise in the future. This could also be the point at issue leading to the conflicts among states. To this end, states signatories to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991 signed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Madrid Protocol which sets out the principles regulating environmental protection in Antarctica. The framework for the Protocol helped to establish the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities whose main aim was to ban mining. Convention never entered into force but its primary objective maintained and it is regulated in the Protocol where all activities relating to Antarctic mineral resources are prohibited.

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