Wellington, Jan 14 NZPA – Ministers and officials from 24 countries had accepted invitations to the first ministerial-level meeting of the 27-nation Antarctic Treaty, Environment Minister Simon Upton said today.
The meeting, called Ministerial on Ice, will be held from January 25-28 at McMurdo Station and Scott Base, Antarctica.
Mr Upton said 18 ministers or deputy ministers had accepted invitations to the meeting.
"There has never previously been a ministerial meeting of parties to the Antarctic treaty. For 40 years, the Antarctic Treaty system has been run by officials."
The meeting was designed to be informal and to focus on fact-finding.
It would achieve its aim if it focused political attention on Antarctica and its ecosystems, Mr Upton said.
While Antarctica’s isolation meant its environment had been relatively protected, new technology was diminishing its isolation.
The recent expansion of illegal fishing for toothfish had shown just how vulnerable the "pristine" environment was.
Mr Upton said the ministers and officials attending the meeting would focus on the Ross Sea region, the important scientific work being carried out there, and New Zealand’s role as a gateway to the continent.
Among those attending are environment ministers or their deputies from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden and the United Kingdom; foreign ministers or their deputies from Argentina, China, Finland, Peru and the United States; fisheries and ocean ministers from Canada, Chile, Italy, Korea, and the Netherlands; Norway’s justice minister; and MPs and officials from France, Germany, India, Japan, Poland and Russia.
NZPA PAR bs 14/01/99 16-19NZ
