ABSTRACT
The first mention of SCAR as a part of the Antarctic System came as part of the first issue addressed at the Canberra Meeting. On the matter of the exchange of scientific plans and future programs, New Zealand proposed a Recommendation that urged governments to make such information available to other concerned governments through SCAR and other channels. The International Council of Scientific Unions, which established SCAR for the IGY, is a non-governmental body. Hence the ICSU and its component parts are independent of direct governmental controls. In fact, during the IGY the national committees were the go-betweens for SCAR and the participating governments. In Canberra, the Americans made three proposals encouraging governments to use SCAR in their exchange of data, but these were rejected by Argentina, Belgium, Chile and France. The divergent views on SCAR's role emerged again at the Third Preparatory Meeting as the Powers discussed the draft agreements on conservation.
