Comittee: Environment
Question of: Development of Antarctic resources
Student Officer: Malvika Unnithan
General Topic Overview:
There are many resources that at this point is very important for our world. Ice is one of the main resources as it is a resource which has the potential to provide a fresh water supply. There have been suggestions to tow blocks of ice to parts of the world which is currently suffering from a shortage of fresh water supply. However, this proposal has not yet been carried out due to the unprofitability of the process. Another important resource found in Antarctica is coal which is found along the coast of Antarctica and throughout the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. One more energy providing resource that is speculated to exist in Antarctica is oil. However, this oil has not yet been located as it is just an inference based on the geology of other continents in the southern hemisphere. If these resources do exist the extraction process can be extremely difficult and long. Further resources such as deposits of minerals have been found to be widely scattered across the continent. Examples of the minerals that are present in the rock deposits are cobalt, nickel, chromium, copper, vanadium, iron and platinum. Hence, this has been a controversial issue for many years. Environmentalists believe that the development of the resources is an act of exploiting the natural resources for economic purposes. Scientists believe that research on Antarctic resources will help the world progress and help it from the depleting resources or environmental problems. Lastly, politicians are another group of people who have a different viewpoint. They are looking to see how the many countries in the world can claim resources and sell them in the market for natural resources.
Definition of Key Terms:
What is development?
In this case, this term is the ‘act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful.’ In Antarctica there are many resources which have been discovered such as ice, coal, petroleum and minerals, however these resources are not being used productively.
Therefore, these resources have to be developed.
What are resources?
A resource
‘is any physical or virtual entity of limited availability, or anything used to help one earn a living .’ In Antarctica the resources which are going to be developed are ice, coal, petroleum and minerals. These are resources which have limited availability and therefore are highly sought after by many other countries.
Background of Topic:
Antarctica is the continent at the southern tip of the earth. Its geology has been difficult to understand due to the extreme conditions such as low temperature and strong winds. Most of the geological research done on this continent is based on rocks which are exposed on the 1% of land which is not covered by ice. From the geology, we are able to discover the resources that exist there naturally such as ice, coal, petroleum and minerals. Many treaties and other agreements such as the Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol and Convention on the
Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resources (CRAMRA) have been created in order to protect these resources from exploitation by other countries-this one reason why the development of resources has been delayed. Another reason is the expense involved in extracting the resources, making it unprofitable. Hence there has been an on going debate over this issue by

people with different viewpoints- in this case they are scientists, politicians and environmentalists.
Major Countries and Organizations involved and their Positions:
In September 2004 the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was founded in Argentina by the Antarctic
Treaty Consultative Meeting [ATCM]. It was set up to support the annual ATCM and the committee for Environment Protection and facilitating the exchange of information between the parties required in the treaty and the Environment Protocol.
Australia
The important Australian legislation that apply the Antarctic Treaty Systems decisions include the Antarctic Treaty Act 1960, the Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980 and the
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act 1981.
United States
US Laws like the Antarctic Conservation Act provides civil and criminal penalties for activities like taking native Antarctic mammals or birds, entering protected areas, introducing non indigenous plants and animals, importing certain items from Antarctica into the US and polluting
Antarctica or its waters.
New Zealand
Antarctica New Zealand is responsible for developing, managing and executing New Zealand
Government activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Antarctica . The important activities include supporting scientific research, conserving the intrinsic values of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and raising public awareness (in part through arts, media and youth programmes) of the international significance of the continent.
Timeline of Events:

Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959,

1980's the issues were raised again, and led eventually to the Protocol on
Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

The Madrid Protocol was signed in 1991 by the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty banning mining, this is up for review in 2041.

The Madrid Protocol became law in January 1998, it sets out the principles under which environmental protection in Antarctica is to be regulated. This includes a ban on all commercial mining for at least fifty years
Relevant UN treaties and UN resolutions:

Protocol on environmental protection to the Antarctic treaty.

Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resources (CRAMRA)

GA resolution 2625 (XXV): Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning
Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the
United Nations

U.N. Law of the Sea Convention


See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2001, Supplement No. 9
(E/2001/29), chap. I.B.
Note: There has not been a lot of action taken on this issue so some of these documents indirectly relate to the issue at hand.
Observation of UN action:
 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in July 1991, and summarized as UNCED Research Paper No. 5, entitled “Living Marine Resources”.

The document is intended to perform the following functions
To provide a broad environmental perspective to discussions on marine resource use policy in the light of Agenda 21, as well as relevant issues from the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea; the Cancun Conference on Responsible Fishing, and relevant documents from the 1992 FAO Committee on Fisheries, among others.
Possible solutions to the problem:
 Keeping all countries from exploring and exploiting Antarctica for its resource potential, fishes and animals that could endanger Antarctica’s environment which would be a violation of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
Bibliography:
"Antarctic Treaty System -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Web. 28 Sept. 2009.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System>.
"Antarctica -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Web. 28 Sept. 2009.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica>.
Antarctica New Zealand . Web. 28 Sept. 2009. <http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/>.
"Definition of development." Wordnet Web . Web. 28 Sept. 2009.
<wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn>.
"Natural Resources in Antarctica." Www.globalclassroom.org
. Web. 28 Sept. 2009.
<http://www.globalclassroom.org/antarct3.html>.
"The threat to Antarctica from mining and exploiting oil and gas." Cool Antarctica, pictures of
Antarctica, information and travel guide . Web. 28 Sept. 2009.
<http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/threats_mining_oil.htm>.