Monday Morning Meeting on 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting: Key Takeaways

Mr. Bipandeep Sharma, Research Analyst, Non-Traditional Security Centre, Manohar Parrikar IDSA (MP-IDSA), made a presentation on “46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting: Key Takeaways” at the Monday Morning Meeting held on 10 June 2024. The Session was moderated by Comdt. M. Srivastava, Research Fellow, MP-IDSA. Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, MP-IDSA and other scholars of the Institute attended the meeting.

Executive Summary:

India successfully hosted the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the 26th Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) meeting from 20-30 May, 2024 at Kochi. Key discussions focused on Antarctic Tourism, bio-security measures to combat avian influenza, issues related to Emperor penguins, and utilizing renewable energy in Antarctica. The successful hosting marks India's growing role in Antarctic affairs and its dedication to scientific collaboration and environmental stewardship in the region.

Detailed Report:

Comdt. M. Srivastava introduced the Speaker and set the stage by introducing the audience to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). He mentioned that ATCM meetings consist of representatives of the Consultative parties, the non-consultative parties, observers such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and invited experts like the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO). Comdt. Srivastava pointed out that India became a consultative party to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983.  Comdt. Srivastava noted that the ATCM serves as an important forum for exchanging information and discussions on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica. He stated that during the ATCM, a meeting of the Committee for Environment Protection (CEP) is also conducted. India had earlier conducted the 30th ATCM and 10th CEP in 2007 at New Delhi. The 46th ATCM and 26th CEP was hosted by India at Kochi between 20 to 30 May 2024. He highlighted that the recent initiatives by India such as the Antarctic Act 2022 and its support for protecting the Antarctic Environment by designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) shows its active involvement in Antarctica.

Mr. Bipandeep Sharma commenced his presentation by explaining the Antarctic Treaty System. He highlighted India’s proactive diplomacy and success in hosting the ATCM-46 and CEP-26 meeting. Mr. Sharma mentioned that the participation of parties in ATCM and CEP meetings witnessed the reaffirmation of the Antarctic Treaty (1959) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol, 1991). He highlighted  ATCM and CEP to be crucial global forums for Antarctic affairs. Mr. Sharma mentioned that this year ATCM witnessed the creation of an additional working group which discussed the development of a ‘tourism framework’ for Antarctica. Mr. Sharma pointed out that CEP-26 discussed and addressed multiple issues that contributed to the implementation of the Environmental Protocol in Antarctica. He further highlighted that some of the priority issues highlighted in CEP 26 included issues of climate change and their implications for Antarctic Sea ice; environmental impact assessment of major activities in Antarctic; protection of the Emperor penguin, and developing of an international framework for environmental monitoring in Antarctica. Mr. Sharma mentioned that as per the CEP recommendations this year, Parties adopted 17 revised and new management plans for ASPAs (Antarctic Specially Protected Areas) and several modifications and additions to the list of Historic and Monument sites were undertaken. In his presentation, Mr. Sharma highlighted that in ATCM-46 serious efforts to increase parties focus towards renewable energy use and to ensure robust implementation of biosecurity measures to minimise the risks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the Antarctic were prioritised.

Commenting on India’s part, Mr. Sharma pointed out that the inaugural remarks at 46th ATCM were made by Shri Kiren Rijiju the then Union Minister of Earth Sciences, who was accompanied by Ambassador Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs and Dr. Shailesh Nayak, former Secretary of MoES and Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. Mr. Sharma highlighted that India’s traditional philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (one Earth, one family, one future) resonated well in India’s inaugural remarks. He further pointed that India’s plans of setting up of a new Antarctic research station, Maitri-II were also discussed in these initial remarks. He highlighted that India informed the parties regarding its future plans of submission of comprehensive environmental evaluations for establishing Maitri-II in Antarctica.

In the final part of his presentation, Mr. Sharma highlighted the need for enhancing collaboration and cooperation between Indian and other like-minded countries in the Antarctica. He further pointed that there is need for promoting interdisciplinary research in polar regions by engaging Indian higher institutes of excellence in research from both scientific and social science domains. Mr. Sharma pointed that India needs to prioritise its efforts in fast-track construction/acquisition of polar infrastructures of which construction/acquisition of an independent Indian Polar Research vessel remains most important. Lastly, he stressed that Indian representation in all future ATCM and CEP meetings, needs to have polar domain experts from both scientific and policy spheres. This would further enhance India’s position in negotiating and raising India’s view point on matters of scientific and broader national interests in future ATCM and CEP platforms.

Questions and Comments

Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy complimented Mr. Bipandeep Sharma for providing a detailed account of ACTM-46 and CEP-26 meetings. He pointed that in the age of Anthropocene, the Antarctic region remains vulnerable to multiple human induced transformations. Ambassador Chinoy in his remarks also questioned the basis of territorial claims of different states in the region. He further highlighted that India needs to prioritise the development of independent polar infrastructures to meet the country’s long term national interests in the region.

Mr. Tatsat Pati, Intern, made a query regarding the role of CCAMLR in the Antarctic region. He also asked the Speaker about the use of unmanned systems in undertaking various activities in extreme Antarctic climatic conditions.

Gp. Capt. (Dr.) R.K. Narang, asked the Speaker to comment on the status of India’s planned Polar Research Vessel.

Mr. Bipandeep Sharma gave detailed remarks to all the questions and comments raised.

Report prepared by Ms. Dorothy Vaanmalar C., Intern, Non-Traditional Security Centre, MP-IDSA, New Delhi.