Madrid Protocol & Antarctic Treaty

Madrid Protocol & Antarctic Treaty

Part of: Mains GS-III: Environment and Conservation

Context: India at International Conference commemorating the signing of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

• Committed to curtail carbon emissions in the Antarctic atmosphere
• Has already adopted the green energy initiative by experimenting with the feasibility of wind energy production and installed moderate output of Wind Energy Generators (WEG) on an experimental basis. 
• The choice of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) for Bharati station to reduce carbon emissions in the Antarctic also promotes India’s pledge to protect the environment.

India reaffirms its commitment to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and at this moment claims to:

1. Implement all Decisions, Resolutions and Measures adopted at ATCM in the Indian Antarctic programme effectively.
2. Use green alternate energy system in both the Indian Antarctic research stations; Maitri and Bharati like solar panels and wind energy generators so compromising use of fossil fuel gradually and make station efficient with alternate green energy.
3. Reduce carbon footprints by using vehicles and machinery only when required at the most
4. Use shared supply ship to deliver human resources, materials and machines to Antarctica
5. Control the introduction of non-native species into Antarctica by any means or through vector transfer.

India and Antarctic Treaty

• India signed the Antarctic Treaty on 19th August 1983 and soon thereafter received consultative status on 12th September 1983. 
• The Madrid Protocol was signed by India which came into force on 14th January, 1998. 
• India is one of the 29 Consultative Parties to the Antarctic Treaty. 
• India is also a member of Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programme (COMNAP) and Scientific Committee of Antarctica Research (SCAR). All these representations show the significant position that India holds among the nations involved in Antarctic research.

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed in Madrid on October 4, 1991 and entered into force in 1998. It designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”.

India in Antarctica

• India has two active research stations; Maitri (commissioned in 1989) at Schirmacher Hills, and Bharati (commissioned in 2012) at Larsemann Hills in Antarctica. 
• India has successfully launched 40 annual scientific expeditions to Antarctica till date. 
• With Himadri station in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Arctic, India now belongs to the elite group of nations that have multiple research stations within the Polar Regions.

News Source: PIB