Antarctic Liability Measure Welcomed

15 June 2005 - Wellington, New Zealand

Antarctic Liability Measure Welcomed

Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, ASOC, members in New Zealand welcomed the finalisation yesterday of the Antarctic regime for liability for environmental damage at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

"The Liability Annexe is the key missing piece of the Antarctic Environmental Protocol which was completed in 1991 but only came into force in 1998," said Forest and Bird Senior Researcher, Barry Weeber. "It is essential for an environmental regime to have a means to determine liability for environmental damage, including the cost of clean-up and response action."

ASOC members internationally have worked for the completion of the Antarctic Liability regime, Mr Weeber said.

"It has taken 15 years of hard negotiations to complete this agreement. It is pity that the US, Japan and Russia blocked the negotiation of a more comprehensive liability regime."

"While the end result is not as far reaching as either the ASOC or New Zealand wanted, it is a significant improvement on current rules managing Antarctica," said Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO) spokesperson, Cath Wallace.

"ASOC promoted a comprehensive liability regime rather than one limited to just response action to environmental emergencies. We will press again in future for this more comprehensive approach."

"We pay tribute to distinguished international lawyer and New Zealand diplomat Don MacKay who as chair of the talks has steered the negotiations to completion over the last 6 years."

"We now have to ensure that the countries involved ratify this agreement so that it can come into force quickly. New Zealand must put priority on itself providing early ratification of the agreement."

Notes
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (known as the Antarctic Environmental Protocol) and its first four Annexes (Environmental Impact Assessment, Conservation of Fauna and Flora, Waste Disposal and Waste Management, Prevention of Marine Pollution) were adopted in 1991 but did not come into force in 1998. The fifth Annex on protected areas entered into force in May 2002. The liability Annexe is the sixth Annex, covering liability for environmental damage and is a requirement of Article 16 of the Protocol.

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition was formed in 1978. ASOC members in New Zealand include the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO), Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace New Zealand.

ASOC is the only environmental non-governmental organisation to hold observer status at both the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

ASOC lead the international campaign to end the Antarctic Minerals Regime and led the public pressure that culminated in the conclusion of the Antarctic Environmental Protocol which includes a ban on minerals activity in Antarctica for at least 55 years. See www.asoc.org .

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed with an enormous gap and a promise: it contained no provisions to determine liability for environmental disasters, but it contained within it the obligation on the Protocol Contracting Parties to develop such rules for liability for environmental damage. ASOC has worked to ensure that Contracting Parties stop blocking such an agreement and adopt this crucial sixth annex to the Environmental Protection Protocol.

ENDS

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