Due to a treaty among several nations, the whole Antarctic continent, from its high mountains to its oceans full of all kinds of sea animals, is designated a wilderness preserve.This agreement was enacted in 1998, and makes mining and drilling on one the of the globe’s most frigid areas for natural resources illegal for a period of 50 years.It has been agreed that this continent be used for conservation and science, not for development.It prohibits a vast range of threats to wildlife, including pesticides and dogs.

The continent is protected through the Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctica Treaty.Essentially, this means that all of the countries in the world have concurred to set aside one area that is not commercialized or industrialized.Approved in 1991, this treaty has the support of the leading 26 nations including the United Says, Japan, India, China, Brazil, Argentina, and the majority of all European nations. To find antarctica travel guide information see this resource.

The regulations set forth by this treaty ended over 15 years of lobbying by environmental groups and put as stop to diplomatic talks.Not only was mining and oil exploration prohibited, it also specified that the 35 stations operated in Antarctica would clean up their sites and remove all disposed material.It also forbids tourist ships and scientific stations from dumping raw sewage into Antarctic waters.

The first person to get to the South Pole was Norwegian Roald Amundsen in 1911 and he used sled dogs to get around.Dogs are now banned by the agreement since some dogs have killed penguins and other birds of the region.Also banned were pesticides, polystyrene packaging and non-sterile soil.

The land is beneath an ice layer which averages one mile in thickness and supports only limited plant life, such and moss and grasses close to the shoreline.Almost three-quarters of the Earth’s fresh water is in the Antarctic ice.Many kinds of sea life also live in or near Antarctica.If you want more comprehensive info on adventure antarctica tours that site will help you.

On this earth, Antarctica is considered to be one of the most fragile places.Any growth that occurs here happens very slowly due to the sub zero climate.The land takes years to recover from any damage inflicted on it.You might see the same footprint you left ten years ago still around this day.

The original Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 placed a ban on all nuclear testing and military activity in and around the continent.It also kept any one nation from owning all of Antarctica and gave rules for research.Although Antarctica can not be owned by any nation, there are some countries which claim to own every square inch of it.

Once scientists found a rather massive concentration of offshore oil reserves, as well as abundant mineral deposits that led environmental lobbyists to suggest laws for conservation ever since the 1980s.In the midst of the energy crisis of the 1970s, the feasibility of drilling for oil in Antarctica was considered.As technology advances and the price of fuels begin to rise, interests in the deposits of the Arctic will probably augment.

Each of the 26 nations will enforce rules individually on their claims.Should a nation’s citizens break the laws and its government declines to intervene, the other countries would exert pressure to resolve the problem.The agreement on this continent is believed to be an environmental success story.

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