More money for Antarctic

2004-05-24 15:29

Cape Town - South Africa is soon to double its spending on Antarctic research to R10m, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.

He was speaking at the opening session in Cape Town of the 27th annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, attended by representatives of 45 countries and a range of NGOs.

Van Schalkwyk said the treaty had for 45 years been a template for international co-operation, and South Africa remained a committed and proud founder member.

"I wish to convey to you our determination and also our intention to increase our participation in international scientific ventures," he said.

"To give content to this undertaking, our government has already increased direct research funding for science connected to Antarctica by 30 this year, and it is our intention to double that funding in the near future."

He also said that while countries such as New Zealand and Argentina had served Antarctica well as "gateway nations" offering supplies, communications and support, he believed South Africa and Cape Town in particular were set to become the next major gateway to the frozen continent.

Among the issues that the two-week treaty meeting will focus on are environmental protection, tourism, and the creation of a liability regime for the continent.

Increasing threat of pollution

South African delegate Theressa Akkers, of the department of environmental affairs and tourism, explained that with the rise of Antarctic tourism, there was an increasing threat of pollution from ships.

Contingency plans were also needed for emergency search and rescue operations.

All this fell within a "liability framework" that would ensure parties were held responsible in the case of accidents or environmental threats.

"One of the aims of this meeting is to set up the legal framework for dealing efficiently with these issues," she said.

For tourism, the proposal was that parties to the treaty system take responsibility for their nationals and tour operators.

"If a vessel carrying your [country's] flag ventures down to Antarctica and something unforeseen happens, then that flag state has to take some responsibility," she said.

Akkers said the meeting would also for the first time appoint a full-time executive secretary, who would work in a permanent office to be housed in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Secretarial work on the treaty has historically been done by the host country of the annual meeting, in this case South Africa.

- SAPA