Travel Tips

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 pristine ecosystem has been protected from mining and oil drilling since 1998 and will stay protected for at least 50 years.It has been agreed that this continent be used for conservation and science, not for development.Very few things that would be a danger to the wildlife here are allowed. This means that everything from pesticides to dogs are banned.

The treaty is known as the Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctica Treaty.The nations around the world agreed to leave Antarctica free from commercial and industrial development.This agreement was signed in 1991 by the 26 leading nations with scientific interest in the land. Some of the most prominent nations in the agreement are the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, and most of the primary European nations.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.In addition to preventing all oil drilling and mining, the 35 scientific outposts on Antarctica are required to remove all garbage and clean up all dumps.Scientific stations and tourist ships are also not allowed to dump an raw sewage in to the Arctic waters.

When people like Roald Amundsen of Norway set out to discover parts of Antarctica, such as the South Pole in 1911, they had to use dogs to pull their sleds.Dogs are now banned by the agreement since some dogs have killed penguins and other birds of the region.Soil that has not been sterilized, polystyrene packaging materials, and pesticides are also banned in Antarctica.

The land of the Arctic is covered by ice that is on average 1 mile in thickness and only supports the most basic plant life, like moss and grass by shorelines. The ice is made up of 70 percent of the freshwater of the earth.Many kinds of sea life also live in or near Antarctica.If you want more comprehensive info on adventure antarctica tours that site will help you.

Antarctica is one of the most delicate locations on earth.Life grows very slowly at the continual below-zero temperature conditions.Many years will pass before any damage can be completely repaired.For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.

The original Antarctic Treaty, executed in 1959, prohibited nuclear tests and any military maneuvers in the area.It also asserted that Antarctica was to be owned by no nations. The rules for research were also established at this time.While no country may possess Antarctica, literally every square inch of the land is claimed by some country or the other.

In the early 80s, after scientist discovered deposits of zinc, coal, manganese, uranium, copper, gold, iron and offshore oil, environmental groups started to push for conservation laws. When the world saw an energy crisis in the 1970s, many companies considered drilling in Antarctica.Drilling for oil in Antarctica will probably become a highly-debated topic if the cost of oil continues to go up.

Rules will be enforced individually since all 26 nations have their own laws.This is kept in check by the other nations in the treaty applying pressure to the government to punish any transgression.Many are in agreement that the treaty constitutes an environmental success story.

Comments are closed.