The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Antarctic Treaty and Conservation in Antarctica

This chapter investigates the scientific arguments for and diplomatic negotiation of the conservation of Antarctic wildlife between 1959 and 1964. The subject of wildlife conservation was raised by biologists working within the newly created Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and they proposed a series of measures to the Antarctic Treaty consultative parties. The treaty parties negotiated the matter, passing the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora in 1964. This chapter argues that nature conservation became a tool of advancement and power both for biologists, who wanted institutional standing within the Antarctic scientific community, and for diplomats, who wanted to fill the gaps and silences of the Antarctic Treaty with meaning and with structures for controlling each other. The Agreed Measures were the first step away from the geophysical conception of Antarctica that undergirded the negotiation of the Antarctic Treaty.

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The Greening of Antarctica

10.1093/oso/9780190907174.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alessandro Antonello

Keyword(s):

Environmental Protection ◽

Scientific Committee ◽

Environmental Agreements ◽

Human Relationship ◽

Conceptual Changes ◽

Antarctic Marine ◽

Antarctic Seals ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

The Antarctic

The Greening of Antarctica investigates the development of an international regime of environmental protection and management for Antarctica between the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and the signing of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. During those two decades the parties to the Antarctic Treaty and an international community of scientists surrounding the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research reimagined Antarctica from being a cold, sterile, and abiotic wilderness into a fragile and extensive regional ecosystem. This book investigates this change by analyzing the negotiations and developments surrounding four environmental agreements: the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora in 1964, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in 1972, a voluntary restraint resolution on Antarctic mining in 1977, and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. The development of the Antarctic Treaty and the related conceptual changes occurred because states and scientists were continually searching for authority and power within various realms. All actors were balancing their search for power and authority with the desire to maintain stability and peace in the region. In this international and diplomatic context, the actors were not simply trying to keep relations between themselves orderly; they were also ordering the human relationship with the environment through treaties.

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The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Antarctic Treaty

Science diplomacy : science, Antarctica, and the governance of international spaces ◽

10.5479/si.9781935623069.75 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 75-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David W. H. Walton

Keyword(s):

Scientific Committee ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

The Antarctic

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Italian engagement in Antarctica

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247400012249 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 27 (161) ◽

pp. 121-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Manzoni ◽

M. Zucchelli

Keyword(s):

Technical Research ◽

Transport Aircraft ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

Scientific Station ◽

Logistic Support ◽

The Antarctic

AbstractFollowing Italy's accession to the Antarctic Treaty in 1981, the Italian Parliament made provision for a six-year programme of Antarctic research, to be administered by the Ministry for University and Scientific and Technical Research. The programme, Progetto Antartide, centres on a permanent scientific station at Gerlache Inlet, installed in 1986–87 for a staff of up to 60. Chartered ships, helicopters, snow vehicles and heavy transport aircraft provide logistic support for a substantial scientific and field programme, ranging widely from the base, the scope and extent of which is likely to increase.

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The Work of Scar - International research in the Antarctic. Richard Fifield. 1988. Oxford, Oxford University Press, for the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and ICSU Press. 146 p, illustrated, hard cover. ISBN 0-19-854216-X. £25.00.

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247400009384 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 24 (150) ◽

pp. 254-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

W. Nigel Bonner

Keyword(s):

International Research ◽

Scientific Committee ◽

Oxford University ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Hard Cover ◽

Oxford University Press

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Education and outreach by the Antarctic Treaty Parties, Observers and Experts under the framework of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s003224741800044x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 55 (4) ◽

pp. 241-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

José C. Xavier ◽

Dragomir Mateev ◽

Linda Capper ◽

Annick Wilmotte ◽

David W. H. Walton

Keyword(s):

International Union ◽

International Polar Year ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Educational Value ◽

International Polar ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

Education And Outreach ◽

The Antarctic

AbstractThe development of formal discourse about education and outreach within the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), and the influence of major international activities in this field, are described. This study reflects on the ATCM Parties’ approach to implementing the ambition of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty Article 6.1.a, to promote the educational value of Antarctica and its environment, and examines the role of workshops and expert groups within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes. These early initiatives, which emerged in the 1990s, were a prelude to the development and implementation of a large number of International Polar Year (IPY) education and outreach programmes. The establishment of an Antarctic Treaty System Intersessional Contact Group, and an online forum on education and outreach during the 2015 ATCM in Bulgaria, is a legacy of IPY and is the next step in fostering collaboration to engage people around the world in the importance and relevance of Antarctica to our daily lives.

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The SCAR Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica Scientific Research Programme

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921312017000 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (S288) ◽

pp. 275-295

Author(s):

John W. V. Storey ◽

Lyu Abe ◽

Michael Andersen ◽

Philip Anderson ◽

Michael Burton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Scientific Research ◽

Research Programme ◽

International Investment ◽

Related Field ◽

Working Groups ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Astronomy And Astrophysics ◽

New Facilities

AbstractSCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is, like the IAU, a committee of ICSU, the International Council for Science. For over 30 years, SCAR has provided scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System and made numerous recommendations on a variety of matters. In 2010, Astronomy and Astrophysics from Antarctica was recognized as one of SCAR's five Scientific Research Programs. Broadly stated, the objectives of Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica are to coordinate astronomical activities in Antarctica in a way that ensures the best possible outcomes from international investment in Antarctic astronomy, and maximizes the opportunities for productive interaction with other disciplines. There are four Working Groups, dealing with site testing, Arctic astronomy, science goals, and major new facilities. Membership of the Working Groups is open to any professional working in astronomy or a related field.

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Antarctic climate change and the environment: an update

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247413000296 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 237-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 220

Author(s):

John Turner ◽

Nicholas E. Barrand ◽

Thomas J. Bracegirdle ◽

Peter Convey ◽

Dominic A. Hodgson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Assessment Report ◽

The Past ◽

Key Points ◽

Form Part ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Relevant Material

ABSTRACTWe present an update of the ‘key points’ from the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report that was published by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 2009. We summarise subsequent advances in knowledge concerning how the climates of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean have changed in the past, how they might change in the future, and examine the associated impacts on the marine and terrestrial biota. We also incorporate relevant material presented by SCAR to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and make use of emerging results that will form part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report.

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International collaboration in Antarctica: the International Polar Years, the International Geophysical Year, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247408007468 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 321-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Colin P. Summerhayes

Keyword(s):

International Collaboration ◽

Scientific Collaboration ◽

Scientific Committee ◽

International Scientific Collaboration ◽

International Geophysical Year ◽

Working Together ◽

International Polar ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

The Antarctic ◽

International Geophysical

ABSTRACTAs the fourth International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, gets into full swing it is timely to reflect on the history of development of international scientific collaboration in the IPYs since the first one in 1882–1883, including the third, which evolved into the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958. The success of international scientific collaboration in the IGY led the International Council for Science (ICSU), the body that managed the IGY, to create the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to carry forward the collaboration in Antarctic science that had begun during the IGY. This year, 2008, seems an appropriate time to undertake such an historical review, given that we are not only midway through the fourth IPY, but also that it is SCAR's 50th anniversary; the first SCAR meeting having been held in The Hague on 3–5 February 1958. Since SCAR's membership began with 12 member countries and 4 ICSU unions, membership has grown to 34 countries and 8 ICSU unions, with more expected to join at the 30th meeting of SCAR in Moscow in July 2008. Both SCAR's activities and those of the fourth IPY benefit from international collaboration not only between scientists, but also between the national Antarctic operations managers, working together through the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP), and national policy makers working together through the Antarctic Treaty mechanisms. Thanks to all their efforts, the IPY of 2007–2009 will leave behind a legacy of enhanced observing systems for documenting the status and change of all aspects of the Antarctic environment as the basis for improved forecasting of its future condition. SCAR expects to play a major role in the design of those systems and their use to improve scientific understanding of the place of the Antarctic in the global environmental system, and the pace and direction of change within that system.

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Focussing an Antarctic research programme: the Australian experience

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247400020271 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 28 (164) ◽

pp. 51-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bruce W. Davis

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Research Programme ◽

Community Interest ◽

Antarctic Research ◽

Antarctic Treaty ◽

Australian Experience ◽

Maturity Management ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Antarctic Environment ◽

Antarctic Treaty System

AbstractThis paper illustrates the manner in which inceased political and community interest in Antarctica is shifting the focus of Australian Antarctic research towards environmental management, creating tensions amongst bureaucrats and scientists as to programme priorities and funding allocations, and argues the existence of three distinct eras, each with particular chacteristics and orientation, but all reflecting political and scientific perspectives about Antarctic at the relevant time: (a) idosyncratic individualism in the ‘heroic age’ of Antarctic exploration 1890–1945; (b) hydra-headed science programmes within the Antarctic Treaty system 1945–1959–1990; and (c) prospective maturity management of the Antarctic environment in the post-CRAMRA era, 1990 onwards.

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