Oil and ice: petroleum extraction in Antarctica

A positive first step would be to initiate formal consultations with the UN over UNCLOS and look to establish an agreed legal perspective on the ambiguity. Since this will undoubtedly take a great deal of time, focus should additionally be applied to bolster the international legitimacy of the organisation through increased membership.

In recent years, the ATS has started to enact a development agenda, creating a permanent secretariat (PDF 36KB) in Buenos-Aires. While this is a positive first step, further actions are needed and if the impetuous dies at this point the longevity of the institution appears in distinct trouble.

In 1972, an ATCM member was recorded as stating, “this Treaty will last till a big mineral discovery is made - then it will be every man for himself,” and while times have changed, the quote still appears prescient when present concerns are noted.

If the jurisdictional issues can be solved, the ATS may have a chance, but it not, the ever-increasing economic pressure will eventually lead to an institutional “house-of-cards”. What the future holds for the Madrid Protocol and the ATS is unknown, but if a solution cannot be established, the status of Antarctica as “the last untouched environment on Earth” may one day be a mere side note in the history books.