At CEP XIV (2011), the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat presented Secretariat Paper 6 “Summary of the Work of the CEP on Marine Protected Areas”. This paper reports on the development of the topic of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) in discussions of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) since 1998. The most important discussions, including active cooperation with CCAMLR, began in 2006 at CEP IX. At CEP XII (2009), a joint CEP/SC-CCAMLR workshop was held to identify and recommend future opportunities for practical cooperation between the two bodies.
The 2009 Workshop noted the shared interests in spatial marine protection and concluded that issues relating to spatial protection and management of Antarctic marine biodiversity would generally be best led by SC-CAMLR. However, this did not preclude the development by the CEP of ASPAs and ASMAs which have in whole or in part a marine component.
In addition, both the CEP and SC-CAMLR recognized the value of developing a harmonized approach to protection of the marine environment across the Antarctic Treaty System and in maintaining a dialogue regarding the review of proposals for potential MPAs.
This paper reviews and summarizes CEP meeting reports, workshops, and documents submitted to those meeting to reflect the CEP’s discussion on MPAs.