U R Rao on measures to save the Antarctic
The two-week long 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting concluded on May 11 in New Delhi. Among other resolutions, India's proposal to set up its third base station was accepted. U R Rao, chairman of the meeting, talks to Archita Bhatta on the resolutions and measures agreed upon to save Antarctica's ecology
Meet's outcome: The Antarctic Specially Managed Area agreement, which entails management of designated areas so that they do not get polluted, exploited or threatened. The issue was debated in the meeting held in Edinburgh in 2006. Now, there is some consensus on strict regulations to see that flora and fauna of Antarctica is not over-exploited.
tourism: Problems regarding regulation of tourism have been identified and a framework has been laid down. But there are still several complications. It is not possible to stop tourism.What authority can India or the group of countries bound by the treaty, possibly have to stop tourism. There is no sovereignty on the Antarctic. So policing is not possible. We are trying to regulate the number of tourists though there is still no limit to the total number of tourists. We are preventing large ships. At present, the us sends the largest number of tourists, followed by Argentina.
regulatory problem: Antarctica does not belong to any one country. (Seven countries