Ireland is to sign 'The Antarctic Treaty'

Reflections

In the Proposed renewed Programme for Government agreed on 10^th October 2009 is the section:

The Europa in ice

 Antarctic Treaty. Join with other nations in giving support to the worldwide effort to protect the Antarctic through ratifying the Antarctic Treaty.

A moody Antarctica

Mary White TD, the Deputy-Leader of the Green Party spoke last Sunday 25^th October 2009 at the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School in Athy, Co Kildare (now in its 9^th year) and confirmed that Ireland is to sign the Antarctic Treaty as a tribute to Sir Ernest Shackleton, Tom Crean and other Irish polar explorers. Over the past six years six resolutions have been forwarded to Government from the Earnest Shackleton Autumn School requesting that Ireland should join the other signatories and sign the Antarctic Treaty. A full account of these resolutions and the proceedings that brought these conclusions, is described comprehensively, by Robert Headland, Senior Research Associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, in 'Nimrod, The Journal of the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School' Volume 3, October 2009 and published by The Ernest Shackleton Autumn School, Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Athy, Co. Kildare. This is available from the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum,  email: athyheritageATeircomDOT net (Telephone +353-(0)59-8633075).  Lobbying for the signing of the Antarctic Treaty has also been ongoing from other groups and individuals in Ireland, including The Tom Crean Society, Jonathan Shackleton, Simon Berrow and Séamus Taaffe. At the Autumn School Mary White TD said "…..Now Ireland can hold its head up in joining some 47 states which support conservation…..". The Antarctic Treaty will be 50 years old on December 1st, and 47 states representing more than 80 per cent of the world's population already support the agreement. As of August 2009 the following 47 countries were adherents to the Antarctic Treaty (in chronological order by their dates of accession): United Kingdom, South Africa, Belgium, Japan, United States, Norway, France, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Netherlands, Romania, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Uruguay, Papua New Guinea, Italy, Peru, Spain, China (Peoples' Republic), India, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, Cuba, Korea (Seoul), Greece, Korea (Pyongyang), Austria, Ecuador, Canada, Colombia, Switzerland, Guatemala, Ukraine, Turkey, Venezuela, Estonia, Belarus, and Monaco.

Green ice

In Nimrod Volume 3 (2009) Robert Hedland states "In September 2004 a Secretariat for the Treaty was established in Buenos Aires which has progressively assembled, and become the centre, for all relevant information.  The basic text of the Treaty is a model of simplicity and contains only fourteen articles.  During the subsequent half century there has been much additional material, which is summarised in a series of Antarctic Treaty Handbooks that have been published in print and in electronic form (copies are lodged with the Athy Heritage Centre)."  

The Antarctic Treaty is shown, in full, on this web-site: http://www.wildside.ie/read.php?art=36