Within the Australian Antarctic program we are developing procedures for the clean-up and remediation of abandoned work sites and disused tip sites. Sea-iced material would travel out with the ice as it broke up at the beginning of summer to be dispersed among the marine environment. Research is currently underway to develop cleanup and remediation procedures that will not cause greater impacts. Methods for detecting and monitoring impacts, particularly in the adjacent marine environment are also being developed. Environmental audit, environmental impact assessment, a permitting system and a system of protected areas are among the arsenal of management tools available for reducing current and future impacts of activities in Antarctica.
Environmental audit is used to assess our activities.
The system, adopted by all nations operating in Antarctica, involves a preliminary assessment to determine the scale of impact likely and whether more detailed assessment is necessary. A permit system has also been established to regulate and monitor certain activities such as entry to protected areas and the collection of samples. The Madrid Protocol established a system for area protection and management, which will be used to protect areas of outstanding environmental, scientific, historic, aesthetic or wilderness value. This system replaces the system of Specially Protected Areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest previously designated by Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. Some environmental disturbance is an inevitable consequence of activities in Antarctica.