Effectiveness of an international environmental regime: the protocol on the environmental protection to the Antarctic Treaty

Abstract

The Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection, signed in Madrid in October, 1991, is a landmark in the progressive institutional development that has been a feature of the Antarctic Treaty system. It establishes a framework regime to provide legally binding protection for the Antarctic environment. The Protocol and its annexes take a proactive and comprehensive approach to the management of all human activities in Antarctica.

The objective and designation of the Protocol, as expressed in Article 2, is as follows:

"The Parties commit themselves to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and hereby designate Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science."

This paper looks at how this goal is to be achieved, the major factors involved, and whether the provisions for its accomplishment are likely to be effective.

The development of the Antarctic Treaty system indicates a preparedness by those involved to address issues as they become salient. The pressures involved in Antarctic diplomacy influence the shape of Antarctic Treaty System policy-making and implementation. A concentration on seemingly effective institutional responses and provisions is not necessarily followed by a concentration on effective compliance. Effectiveness is influenced by both institutional and political factors, and the involvement of epistemic communities. In the Antarctic the latter involve scientists and environmentalists.

The Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection is useful as a model, in terms of both what it does and does not include. The institutional framework which it elaborates has the capacity to be applied more specifically and stringently than most other contemporary environmental regimes. The degree to which its potential is realised is largely dependent on the further specificity and scope of provisions, in order to effectively address environmental issues in the Antarctic, and the political will brought to bear by the Treaty Parties in implementing these provisions. Pressure from Non-Governmental Organisations will continue to be important in shaping these processes.