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Draft Antarctic Bill

The Draft Antarctic Bill seeks to further improve the environmental protection and governance of Antarctica, amending the Antarctic Act 1994 and implementing international agreements as a Party to the Antarctic Treaty. 

The UK has a long tradition and history in the Antarctic and was the first to ratify the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. The UK is committed to protecting the unique Antarctic environment, which is a perfect laboratory for science and exploration. The British Antarctic Territory is the largest of the UK's overseas territories and is administered directly from the FCO.

The bill has three main elements:

• implementation of the 'Liability Annex' to the Antarctic Treaty’s Environmental Protocol
• to put onto a legal footing the current requirement that all British Antarctic expeditions have adequate contingency and safety plans
• amendment of the 1994 Act to allow the FCO to permit foreign nationals on British led expeditions, give additional protection for the Antarctic environment

Draft Antarctic Bill [PDF, 1.3MB, new window]

Consultation process

The Consultation on the Draft Antarctic Bill ran from Tuesday 10 November 2009 till Friday 12 February 2010. The Government's response is available below, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament and sent to all respondents. Copies of the consultation responses are available on request to:

Polar Regions Unit
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
London
SW1A 2AH

Tel: 020-7008-2616
E-mail: polarregions@fco.gov.uk

Government Response to the Consultation on the Draft Antarctic Bill [PDF document, 212KB, new window]

Related documents

• Draft Antarctic Bill [PDF, 1.3 Mb]
• Government's response to the Draft Antarctic Bill [PDF, 216.1 Kb]