Zoom Webinar
Summary:Sixty years since the Antarctic Treaty came into force, what have been the successes in managing the geopolitical challenges and what comes next?
Presenter(s):
- Mr Bruno Arpi, University of Tasmania
- Dr Hanne Nielsen, University of Tasmania
- Moderated by Dr Tony Press, University of Tasmania and former Director of the Australian Antarctic Division
The first meeting of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, the first Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), was held in Canberra from 10 - 14 July 1961. Shortly after, the Antarctic Treaty entered into force on the 23 June 1961.
In the sixty years since its entry into force the Antarctic Treaty has provided the framework for governance of this region, later termed “a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”. The ATCM, as the key deliberative forum of the Treaty, has shaped the Antarctic legal and political framework, and has driven the robustness, resilience and effectiveness of this unique regime.
This webinar will look at the Antarctic Treaty and the ATCM over the past sixty years, and focus on the successes of the Treaty in managing the geopolitical challenges it faced. The panel will discuss the increasing number of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and accessions to the Treaty, the broadening of the Antarctic regime, and increasing human uses. The presenters will not only explore the past but will also identify Antarctica’s potential challenges.
About the presenters and moderator
Bruno Arpi is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Law and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania (Australia). He holds a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and graduated as a Lawyer (Abogado) at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina) where he has been teaching Public International Law since 2017. Bruno is an affiliated researcher of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Humanities and Social Sciences Research Group.
Dr Hanne Nielsen is a Lecturer in Antarctic Law and Governance at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. Her research focusses on representations of Antarctica in popular media, including in theatre and advertising material; polar tourism; and Antarctica as a workplace. Hanne was recognised as an emerging research leader as the first HASS-based researcher to be awarded a Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Fellowship in 2017. She is a past President (2017-18) of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the SCAR Standing Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences (SC-HASS).
Dr Tony Press is an adjunct Professor at the University of Tasmania. He was formerly the CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania from 2009 to 2014. From 1998-2008 he was the Director of the Australian Antarctic Division. He chaired the Antarctic Treaty’s Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) from 2002 to 2006; was Australia’s representative to the CEP and Alternative Representative to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings from 1999 to 2008; and Australia’s Commissioner to the Commission for the Convention on Antarctic Marine Living Resources from 1998 to 2008. In 2014 Dr Press provided the Australian Government with the 20 Year Australian Antarctic Strategic Plan. Dr Press is appointed as the Chair of the Tasmanian Government’s Antarctic Gateway Advisory Committee; and he is the Chair of the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes Advisory Board.
