Desarrollo de la Antártica

EL DESARROLW DE LA ANTÁRTICA be the same as an agreed moratorium. Each of the Consultati:¡e Governments will ultimately have to ma:ke their choice betwcen three alternatives: first, no resource development; second, a share with their Treaty partners in regulating the development of any resources that may exist throughout the whole Treaty Area, OY third, some .kind of take-over by 144 nations, with accompanying admi· nistrative ohaos. It is true that only a few nations posses the capability to undertake commercial operations in the Antarctic. 1, personally, believe it is important that licenced acces should be open to all bidders. 1 algo believe that to keep in line with world opinion it will be essentiaI to pIough back into the financial support of Antarctic scientific re– search and administration a proportion of any royalties received fnr licences. 1 will come back later to an important precedent for this. It couId be clearly demonstrated as an activity for the benefit of all nations, wheúher or not t>hey possess the financial resources or tech– nical capabilities to mount their own expeditions. It will be no solution for the Twelve to devise environmental and technical standards without also establishing a credible licencing authority with powers to monitor and enforce such standards. It is possible to envisage a regime which should be acceptable to both the claimant and non-claimant states. But 1 think these must be ro;:– cognizable progress towards an Antarctic Treaty soIution along- th::se lines if some of tihe Contracting 'Parties are to continue restraining their companies and nationals from exploring for and exploiting Antarctic minerals. Fisheiies res,earch and exploitation The development of fisheries in the Southern Ocean presents a very different series of problems from those posed by minerals. It is now proved beyond any dou bt that a:::1 immense renewable living resource exists, especially hil!. The technical problems of locating and cat– ching krili have been solved and great progress has already been made with experiments in processing krill into various products. Here also, we are being even more ra:pidly over taken by event~. Although krill forms one of Ilhe most significant links in rhe Whole Soutihern Ocean ecosystem, no international agreement exists to en– sure rational management and prevent over-fishing. A repetitíon oE the terrible story of whaling can very easily happen. [,et us recall that the Antarctic Treaty was subject to the important reservatioíl that nothing should prejudice the existing rights of any state in in- 344