ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with the history of the Antarctica region. It covers the origins of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and its effect on the formation of the management regime. The chapter discusses the formation of the Special Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the subsequent Antarctic Treaty. It describes that the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and its administrative apparatus, as are the efforts of some developing nations to convert the treaty system into a United Nations regime. The chapter also discusses the rationale that underlies the treaty regime. Ninety-eight percent of the continent is covered by an ice sheet 2,000–3,700 meters thick that contains approximately 90 percent of the world's freshwater. Due to its extreme temperatures, Antarctica is the only continent with no native terrestrial mammals. The protocol bans mineral and oil exploration in Antarctica for at least fifty years and contains stronger provisions to protect the marine ecosystem from pollution and overharvesting of living resources.
