Antarctica - the Triumph of the Global Commons

Abstract

Antarctica is one of four internationally recognised global commons. Not only has nation state sovereignty remained unrecognised on the continent but it also run by the principles of peace, science and environmental protection – principles that are key to ga global commons. The Antarctic Treaty has managed to fulfilled these principles by the influence of various NGOs throughout its history. The events of the 1980s to the early 1990s, seeing the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA) being replaced by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (The Protocol), further showed the interest and influence of the global community on the Antarctic Treaty System. The challenge for the future is to remove the gap between the principle governing Antarctica in practice and the principle of governance for a true global commons. This would enable further cooperation between nations and NGOs, and allow the global community the voice in Antarctic issues it by definition should have.