Ochrana životního prostředí Antarktidy
Authors: Ondřej Jan 
Published: February 2025

Antarctica is the continent around the south pole. Antarctica plays an important role in the conservation of the climatic balance of the Earth. The Antarctic system – land, ocean, atmosphere is the natural refrigerant of the Earth’s temperature system. Antarctica is the unique laboratory for studying global processes. It provides information about greenhouse gas concentration and atmospheric temperatures of hundreds and thousands of years ago. The human activity in Antarctica is currently limited for scientific research, fishing, tourism and sea and air traffic. The development of all human activity in the Antarctica increases local pollution, causes the degradation of habitats, and disruptions for the animal populations. The protection of the Antarctic environment is necessary. The effective protection of environment requires some legal framework. The international legal system of Antarctica is based on the Antarctic treaty of 1959. However, this Treaty does not include explicit provisions concerning the Antarctica’s environment. But the Antarctic treaty creates the base for another development through the Antarctic consultative meetings. These meetings have accepted more than one hundred recommendations concerning the protection of Antarctica’s environment. Very important recommendation is the Agreed measures for the conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora of 1964. The Antarctic legal regime currently includes besides the Antarctic treaty and recommendations based on it several other treaties. There is Antarctic treaty system according to article 1 e of the protocol on environmental protection to the Antarctic treaty of 1991. This system means, the Antarctic treaty, the measures in effect under that treaty and its associated separate international instruments in force and the measures in effect under those instruments. These instruments are four international treaties concerning Antarctica. These treaties are The Convention for the conservation of Antarctica seals of 1972, the Convention for the conservations of Antarctic marine living resources of 1980, the Convention for the regulation of Antarctic mineral resource activities of 1988 and the Protocol on environmental protection to the Antarctic treaty of 1991. The most important treaty is the latter one. The Protocol of 1991 represents the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and hereby designate Antarctica as a natural reserve. The integral part of the Protocol form Annexes I–IV and another Annex V was accepted by the Consultative meeting later. These annexes provide detailed provisions concerning the protection of environment. These annexes amends and develop the Protocol. From the point of view of the protection of environment, article 7 is very important. According to this article any activity relating to mineral resources, other than scientific research, shall be prohibited. This provision excludes the entry into force of the 1988’s Convention on mineral resources. The Protocol’s state parties prefer the protection of environment over the use of mineral resources. The Protocol of 1991 creates the comprehensive protection of Antarctica’s environment. But the number of questions relating to the environment, have been regulated in separate recommendations accepted by the consultative meetings. These recommendations have not been cancelled by the Protocol. Some questions such as tourism and other non-governmental activities are explicitly regulated by recommendations of the Consultative meetings. The Protocol itself provides provision on the adoption of measures under article IX of the Antarctic treaty for the implementation of this Protocol. There are other international treaties concerning the environment of Antarctica besides the Antarctic treaty system. These treaties concern the sea, e.g. the UN Convention on the law of the sea of 1982, is also relevant to Antarctica. Another treaty is the Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal of 1989. According to this Treaty the parties agree not to allow the export of hazardous wastes or other wastes for disposal within the area south of 60 degree of the south latitude i.e. in the area of the Antarctic treaty. The legal protection of Antarctica has the living importance for the whole mankind. Apart from the long distance from the other continents Antarctica has influence on the global environment.