Antarctic Treaty System An Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Beardmore South Field Camp, Antarctica, January 7-13, 1985 (1986) / Chapter Skim
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10. The Antarctic Treaty as a Scientific Mechanism - The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Antarctic Treaty System
10. The Antarctic Treaty as a Scientific Mechanism - The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Antarctic Treaty System
Pages 153-168
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Zumberge INTRODUCTION Both the Antarctic Treaty and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) were legacies of the International Geophysical Year (IGY)
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in 1956 that the IGY should be extended for an additional year in order to justify the huge expenditures that had been made for antarctic research. CSAGI approved this proposal at its fourth meeting in June 1957, and recommended to the executive board of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)
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At the fifth SCAR meeting, it was reported that ICSU wished SCAR to be renamed. The word "special" was replaced by "scientific" so that from then on, SCAR was the acronym for the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
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The preamble stated that "SCAR is a Special Committee of ICSU charged with furthering the coordination of scientific activity in Antarctica, with a view to framing a scientific programme of circumpolar scope and significance. In establishing its programme, SCAR will take care to acknowledge the autonomy of other existing international bodies." The constitution defined the membership as one delegate from "each country actively engaged in antarctic research" plus one delegate from each of the international scientific unions federated in ICSU.
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Procedures of SCAR SCAR Executive Continuity of leadership in SCAR is lodged in the fivemember executive committee, commonly referred to as the SCAR executive. The executive consists of the president, the immediate past-president, two vice presidents, and the secretary, each of whom holds office for four years.
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The executive does review applications for membership to see that all requirements have been met, after which a recommendation will be forwarded to the delegates for action at the next meeting. Working Groups The core of SCAR lies in its nine permanent working groups: Biology, Geodesy and Cartography, Geology, Glaciology, Human Biology and Medicine, Logistics, Meteorology, Solid Earth Geophysics, and Upper Atmosphere Physics.
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When their assignments are completed, groups of specialists are discontinued. Currently SCAR has five groups of specialists: Antarctic Climate Research, Antarctic Environmental Implications of Possible Mineral Exploration and Exploitation, Antarctic Sea Ice, Seals, and Southern Ocean Ecosystems and Their Living Resources.
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These national reports are distributed widely by SCAR to all national committees so that there is a continual flow of information circulated to all who are active in antarctic research.
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SCAR Meetings In the early years, SCAR met every year, but later the routine of biennial meetings became the norm. Meetings are held in one of the member countries, as invitations are extended from national committees.
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July 5-9, 1982 XVII I Bremerhaven Federal Republic of Germany October 1-5, 1984 aSCAR refers to its meetings by Roman numerals. For example, the 1968 meeting in Tokyo is designated as X SCAR.
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These included, among others, the following wording in Recommendation I-IV: n (1) that the free exchange of information and views among scientists participating in SCAR, and the Recommendations concerning scientific programmed and cooperation formulated by this body constitute a most valuable contribution to international scientific cooperation in Antarctica; (2)
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Generally, these recommendations have ranged over a variety of topics, including a resolution at the first consultative meeting urging the contracting parties to be guided in their conservation policies by the recommendations of SCAR. At the third consultative meeting, in 1964, the treaty consultative parties adopted a series of agreed measures on antarctic conservation based on SCAR recommendations.
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In summary, it can be said that the consultative parties and SCAR play separate but mutually beneficial roles in the international affairs of Antarctica. The success of this relationship is based on two observations: First, the consultative parties derive their authority from the Antarctic Treaty.
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The number of delegates representing other ICSU bodies has increased also, although many of these delegates are also delegates from national committees. In addition, the cadre of alternate delegates has swelled the number of individuals in attendance at SCAR meetings to more than twice what could be expected in the early days.
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So long as SCAR can keep this mission in the forefront of its activities, and so long as its scientists can maintain strong programs of high scientific merit, SCAR will continue to flourish as the only international body dedicated solely to the advancement of knowledge on this unique area of the planet Earth. There is nothing in SCAR's past or present behavior to indicate that it will deviate from the mission that it established for itself at The Hague more than a quarter century ago.
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