Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

ingenuity in adapting the system to meet new requirements - its strength and
viability was very clearly demonstrated even during the armed conflict in l982,
which did not spread to the Antarctic - and the review meeting might turn out to
be a non-event.
ANTARCTICA: A LAND OF SCIENCE?
The Antarctic Treaty powers have now embarked on a series of meetings with the
purpose of reaching agreement on "Comprehensive Measures for the Protection of the
Antarctic Environment", but despite the widespread recognition of the Antarctic as a
"Land of Science", scientists are hardly being consulted on the future political and
practical arrangements for the Antarctic.
In fact the Antarctic scientists' contribution to the solution of global problems and their
sustained efforts - over thirty years - in relation to the protection of the Antarctic
environment is being overshadowed by the recent media activities of vociferous, wellfinanced
environmentalist groups. These groups increasingly purport to speak for the
interests of Antarctic research while having little direct knowledge of either the
Antarctic or research. International science is represented by SCAR, the Scientific
Committee on Antarctic Research which is a component of the non-governmental
International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), and is the single international,
interdisciplinary, non-governmental organization that initiates, promotes and
coordinates scientific research in the Antarctic and provides scientific advice to the
Antarctic Treaty system (ATS).
SCAR has always attached the highest importance to the protection of the Antarctic
environment and has been an important element in the success of the Antarctic Treaty
System, responding to many requests for scientific advice on, for example, conservation,
use of natural resources, man's impact on the environment, facilitiation of scientific
research, guidelines for experimental research on animals, pollution, and tourism.
During l988 a SCAR Group of Specialists (GS) on Environmental Affairs and
Conservation (GOSEAC) was constituted with representation from geologists,
geographers, and logistics experts as well as biologists. One of its current chief tasks is a
special study of the role of environmental impact assessment in the protection of the
Antarctic environment.
The SCAR/SCOR (Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research) BIOMASS Programme
(Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks), which began in l976,
is a major collaborative effort of scientists from many nations which grew out of the
scientific community's concern for maintaining the essential nature of the ecosystems in
the Southern Ocean. This programme has been an important source of information for
the intergovernmental Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources (CCAMLR) and an international data centre has been created. Other SCAR
groups advise on the possible impacts on marine ecosystems from fishing and from
potential mineral and hydrocarbon exploitation, on ecosystem monitoring and on the
effects of marine debris. SCAR has unique responsibilities under the Convention for the
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