"Various countries have made claims to parts of the Antarctic. From about the 1820s, explorers from several countries made various landings but none established a permanent presence there. By the 1930s, seven countries had staked out claims: Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and Norway, which recognised each other's claims, and Argentina and Chile, whose claims overlapped both with each other and with that of Britain. Many other governments don't recognise any of the claims.
The largest single claimant is Australia, which claims about 41% of the continent. This is equivalent to about the size of the Australian continent minus Queensland."
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"The total of 43 countries which do accept the 1959 Treaty means that although all of the UN's most influential members are part of the Antarctic Treaty System, almost three-quarters of the United Nation's 185 member nations are not.
My own view is that Antarctica should come under some international control and be run for the benefit of humankind."
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"There is also the risk that the Antarctic could be 'loved to death'. A common risk at tourists attractions is that they attract too many tourists. Tourism is a major international growth industry and Antarctica is gaining in popularity. But this tourism is a risky activity.
On the one hand, there are the risks of what the tourists could do to Antarctica. There is no systematic management regime for tourists. Given the Antarctic's temperature, garbage takes much longer to biodegrade there than in warmer climates. All the waste that is brought in, should be taken out.
About 10,000 tourists visit the continent each summer, and so there is much scope for waste to be left. There are also 8,000 scientists resident on the continent, and these present problems as well.
On the other hand, there is the risk of what Antarctica could do to tourists. Commercial operators may not have the resources to cope with a tragedy on the continent.
We know, for example, that the United States had warned QANTAS and Air New Zealand about the risks associated with their 'booze and cruise' one-day flights over the south Pole. The flights were halted after the 1979 Mount Erebus Air New Zealand tragedy, whereby one of the world's safest airlines, with a skilled air crew, flew into the side of an active volcano on a clear day, thereby killing all on board. As the United States had warned, there were not enough facilities on its base near the volcano to cope with such a disaster. Therefore care has to be taken as to how the tourist industry develops.
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"The Antarctic is the only continent not subject to widespread exploitation. It is the only continent that humankind can get to know before it uses it."
Dr. Keith Suter
President of the United Nationas Association in NSW
Sydney/Australia
His book "Antarctica: Private Property or Public Heritage" is published by Pluto Press