U.S. Introduces Antarctic Environmental Implementation Legislation
4/2/96
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/** biodiversity: 1115.0 **/
** Topic: Antarctic Protocol Legislation **
** Written 10:02 AM Apr 2, 1996 by antarctica in
cdp:biodiversity **
UNITED STATES INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO IMPLEMENT THE ANTARCTIC
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTOCOL
The House Science and Senate Commerce Committees have introduced
legislation designed to implement for the United States the
Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection.
H.R. 3060, "The Antarctic Environmental Protection Act of 1996,"
was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 12, 1996.
The companion bill with the same name, S. 1645, was introduced in
the Senate on March 26, 1996. The House Science Committee has
scheduled a hearing for the morning of April 18th. There is
unanimous support by the Clinton Administration, the scientific
community, and the environmental community for expeditiously
moving forward with these bills.
When enacted into law, H.R. 3060 and S. 1645 would provide the
legislative authority to enable the U.S. to ratify the Protocol to
the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection. Enactment of
implementing legislation is the final action remaining in the
ratification process. The Senate already gave its advice and
consent to ratification of the Protocol in 1992, but implementing
legislation is needed before the ratification process is
completed.
The Protocol was signed in October 1991 by the 26 nations active
in Antarctica. However, it will only become law after it has been
ratified domestically by all 26 nations. To date, 20 nations have
ratified. The U.S. is among the remaining six which has not (the
other nations are Belgium, Finland, India, Japan, and Russia). As
a traditional leader of the Antarctic Treaty System, U.S.
ratification will provide the momentum to secure international
ratification.
The Protocol ensures that Antarctica shall be used for peaceful
purposes only, by designating Antarctica as a "natural reserve
devoted to peace and science." Its enactment into law will set
the standards for the conduct of all activities in an
environmentally- benign manner. The Protocol is intended to
strengthen the environmental provisions of the Antarctic Treaty
System and provide a comprehensive scheme of environmental
protection for the Antarctic region. Once it becomes law, the
environmental impact of all activities will be assessed,
commercial mining and oil exploitation will be banned, and a
mechanism to set aside large protected areas in the region will be
put into place.
The United States has a proud history in the Antarctic and today
maintains the largest presence on the continent. Passage of H.R.
3060 and S. 1645 will provide critical momentum to push the
ratification processes along in other countries. Further, passage
of implementing legislation will give the U.S. an opportunity to
lead by example as it will provide a model for those nations which
have not enacted implementing legislation. Of the 20 nations
which have ratified, only seven have enacted enabling legislation.
Please contact your Congressional Representative and Senators and
encourage them to vote for passage of H.R. 3060 and S. 1645. For
additional information, please contact The Antarctica Project:
phone: 202-544-0236/fax: 202-544-8483
e-mail: antarctica@igc.org
address: 424 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA