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TODAY Friday 16 January 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site.

 

TODAY IN THE WORLD: Good News Way Down Under

Sometimes things work out OK in the world of international treaty plodding, and let's acknowledge one such today.

On 14 January the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty went into effect. Japan's ratification on 15 December meant that all 26 signatories to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty had agreed to the new protocol, and that it would toll 30 days thereafter.

The protocol declares the continent and its "dependent marine ecosystems" as a "natural reserve devoted to peace and science." It bans all oil and mineral exploration and extraction for a minimum of 50 years. It requires environmental-impact assessments for all human activities, and stipulates stringent standards on waste disposal. Wildlife are protected and special no-activity conservation zones are established.

You have to hold a globe upside down to appreciate that Antarctica covers ten percent of the surface of the planet. Its ice and its waters are crucial determinants of the world's weather and ocean currents. Its seas are among the fertile marvels of the earth, nurturing teeming populations of fish, seals, whales, and seabirds. Its unsettled interior provides an ideal platform from which scientists can look up and drill down.

The enforcement of the protocol -- and the funding of the enforcement -- is not clear. Not all interested national parties appear on the list of 1959 treaty signatories. The 50 year oil and mineral ban won't seem so golden in 2047. But the protocol stands as a wonderful achievement, and not cheaply won. Everyone owes big thanks to the scientists, conservationists, and activists (take a bow, Greenpeace) who made it happen.

 

TODAY ON THE SITE

We were apprised of this good news by esteemed stringer Kieran Mulvaney. Kieran's main time goes to SeaWeb, the excellent organization whose mission is to make marine issues intelligible and compelling to non-specialists. Here he walks our Antarctica beat. Look into his Antarctica High Five for the best steps to take to learn more about the Big Cold Place; check out his op-ed on Antarctic tourism to learn why you should never eat a fried chicken picnic by the Ross Ice Shelf.

 

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1/12: Superbowl, Scientific Uncertainty, and the Future of Al Gore
1/9: Goodbye, Delaware
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1/7: The Great Improvement That Didn't
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1/2: The Greatest Environmental Cause of the Year
12/31/97: The Top Twelve Environment Stories of 1997

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