The total continent of Antarctica, from its massive mountains to the seas replete with blue whales, emperor penguins and leopard seals, is, by means of international agreement, classified as a wilderness preserve.This accord took effect in 1998, and prohibits mining and oil drilling for at least fifty years anywhere within the boundaries of the world’s most frigid and pristine ecosystem. The treaty places a strong emphasis on conservation but not development. It prohibits a vast range of threats to wildlife, including pesticides and dogs.
The Antarctica Treaty’s Environmental Protection Protocol covers this particular facet of protection.Many countries signed this accord in order to protect this one region on earth from commercial interests and development by industry.The leading 26 nations that had scientific interest in the area approved the treaty in 1991. These nations include the United States, Russia, India, China, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and most nations in Europe.To find great antarctica tours information see this resource.
The treaty stopped the arguing that was going on for more than 15 years about regulating the area.Not only was mining and oil exploration prohibited, it also specified that the 35 stations operated in Antarctica would clean up their sites and remove all disposed material.Moreover, cruise ships and scientific outposts cannot drain their sewers into the seas of Antarctica.
The Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, was the first person to arrive at the South Pole in 1911, and he used sled dogs to get there.Dogs, however, were banned because they posed a recent danger to the penguins and other native birds.In addition, pesticides, polystyrene components, and contaminated dirt cannot be transported to Antarctica.
There is a sheet of ice covering the land that averages approximately one mile in thickness. The land is only seen near the shores where some plant life survive, like moss and grass.The ice that covers the land of Antarctica has 70 percent of the freshwater of the earth.In the waters that surround the continent, seals, fish, aquatic birds, and whales thrive.If you want more comprehensive info on adventure antarctica tours that site will help you.
For all of its harshness, the ecosystem of Antarctica is very fragile.Since the temperature is almost always below zero, it takes a long time for anything to grow.Any disturbances can take years to fix.For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.
1959 marked the signing of the initial Antarctic Treaty, and it prohibited military operations and the testing of nuclear devices in the region.Antarctica was then declared to be neutral territory where international research could occur.Even though Antarctica can not be owned by any nation, there are some countries which claim to own every square inch of it.
Once scientists learned in the early 1980’s that oil, coal, gold, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, uranium and more were present in and around Antarctica, environmental entities started to pressure their governments for regulation of land use.When oil became scarce in the 1970’s, a few organizations began talking about extracting oil from Antarctica.The interest in mining and drilling will probably increase as technology advances and oil prices increase.
The twenty-six nations that formed the agreement will independently enforce the regulations.If one country has a person that goes against the rules there will be pressure from the other nations for that nation to rectify the problem.This agreement is viewed by many to be a victory for the environment.