About this record
The Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 nations on 1 December 1959. In 2020, 54 countries are involved in the treaty process and the treaty, together with subsequent negotiated agreements, is known as the Antarctic Treaty System.
The 12 nations that signed the Antarctic Treaty on 1 December 1959 were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Among the treaty provisions were freedom of scientific research; putting aside nations' territorial claims; and non-militarisation of Antarctica. Nuclear explosions and disposal of radioactive waste were also prohibited. The Antarctic Treaty has been hailed as the first disarmament treaty of the nuclear age.
Educational value
- The Antarctic Treaty, which entered into force on 23 June 1961, applies to the Antarctic region south of 60° latitude. The treaty was negotiated against the backdrop of the Cold War, when significant international debate about nuclear armament was taking place. Not all participating countries had made—or even agreed that it was appropriate to make—sovereignty claims over Antarctic territory.
- Unlike any other continent on earth, there is no indigenous human population in Antarctica—the locals are birds, penguins, seals and whales. Early scientific studies of Antarctic wildlife were mostly simple observational studies carried out on land. Today the scientific focus is on environmental protection and stewardship, and on studies that can help develop models of past and future climate.
- Australia has an important role in the Antarctic Treaty System. In 1989, Australia refused to sign the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resources and worked with the French Government to convince other treaty partners to adopt a regime of environmental protection in Antarctica. This position has been widely endorsed and has led to Antarctica being protected as a 'natural reserve, devoted to peace and science' under the Protocol on Environmental Protection (now known as the Madrid Protocol).
- In 1991 the parties to the Antarctic Treaty adopted the Madrid Protocol. This protocol commits all treaty countries to protect the Antarctic environment. In the early 1990's Australia established the world’s first dedicated Antarctic human impacts research program. The program studies how human actions can affect and potentially harm the unique Antarctic environment, either through visiting or from distant activities.
- Huskies were a feature of life on Australian Antarctic bases from the time of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) in 1911–14. The 1991 the Madrid Protocol banned all introduced species—except humans—from Antarctica. The last remaining huskies left the Australian Antarctic Territory in 1993.
- Antarctica and the Southern Ocean play an important role in global climate. The Southern Ocean is part of a complex system, which includes the Antarctic ice sheet, sea ice and the atmosphere. To make accurate climate projections, weather predictions and estimates of sea level rise, scientists need a better understanding of this interactive system.
- The Australian Antarctic Division has developed methods for cleaning up abandoned waste dump sites in Antarctica and has issued guidelines to prevent disturbance of wildlife. The Antarctic Division has also implemented strict rules about food packaging and inspection. These rules prevent foreign species (such as plant seeds and microbial pathogens like moulds) from entering Antarctica.
