Think for a moment. If Man has always wanted to have land for himself, why does Antarctica belong to no one? You may think that it is of no interest to anyone. If you think so, get ready…
Antarctica accounts for about 10% of the planet's surface, and climate changes on the continent and the Southern Ocean could affect the rest of the planet. It is the coldest, highest and windiest continent on the planet. It is so remote that not even the famous explorer James Cook made it to the mainland when he tried it twice in the XNUMXth century.
Antarctica is a continent rich in marine and terrestrial resources: we know today that it may have diamonds, gold, oil and its seas have abundant shrimp and fish. This abundance is translated into many seals, penguins and whales, which were hunted by Man mainly in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.
The movements of several countries with interest in Antarctica are notorious with national expeditions to that continent, mainly from the century. XIX.
At the beginning of the century. XX, explorers such as Admundsen, Scott, Dawson and Shackleton played very important roles in increasing the visibility of this continent.
With the end of World War II, tensions over that region increased… To resolve the situation, the major world powers decided that this continent should belong to all of humanity. And thus came the Antarctic Treaty, which Portugal signed in 2010.
The Antarctica Treaty, initially drafted in 1959, defends that this continent should be for science and peace, without military purposes, and explains that all claims from areas in the Antarctic region would be without effect. In conclusion, that Antarctica is for all Humanity.
With this Treaty came important environmental measures such as the conventions on the protection of fauna and flora, the establishment of a commission for the conservation of living marine resources (CCAMLR) and, more recently, the Commission for Environmental Protection (CEP).
This last commission arose through the Environmental Protection Protocol, also known as the Madrid Protocol (where it was signed), which Portugal signed in 2014. This Protocol is extremely important from an environmental perspective, as it defends, among many other things, that exploitation mineral is banned in Antarctica, and will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016.
The Antarctic Treaty has annual meetings where everything associated with it is reviewed. These meetings intend to reaffirm the dedication of the countries involved in the preservation of Antarctica as a nature reserve and its importance in international cooperation.
The subjects discussed focus on understanding the implications of climate change in Antarctica and the rest of the world, promoting scientific research and consolidating the culture of international collaborations.
Addressing future challenges on the environment, management and operations, it is intended to produce a concept of managing this territory for the good of our planet, with science playing the most important role.
But other issues are also analyzed that are very important, such as tourism, protected areas, education and science communication.
Dear reader, now you know why Antarctica is the only continent that does not belong to anyone, but which certainly should have our attention.
Author Jose Xavier
Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva
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