Antarctic Treaty Meetings of Experts

Antarctic Treaty Meetings of Experts (ATMEs) are meetings convened by Antarctic Treaty Parties and held periodically to enable Parties to have more in-depth discussions about important environmental issues. The most recent ATMEs were the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts on Climate Change, held April 6 - 9, 2010 in Svolvaer, Norway and the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts on Ship-bourne Tourism, held December 9 -11, 2009 in Wellington, New Zealand. ASOC attends ATMEs and produced papers for these meetings, which are available below.

The ATME on Climate Change was charged with examining the following issues by the 2009 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting:

key scientific aspects of climate change and consequences of such change to the Antarctic terrestrial and marine environment;
implications of climate change to management of Antarctic activities;
the need for monitoring, scenario planning and risk assessments;
outcomes of the Copenhagen negotiations relevant for the Antarctic; and
the need for further consideration of any of the above issues and manners in which this can be achieved.

The meeting produced a series of excellent recommendations to address these issues, and ASOC urges the Antarctic Treaty System to work diligently towards implementing them as soon as possible. Learn more about Antarctic climate change here.

The ATME on Ship-borne Tourism was charged with examining the following issues by the 2009 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting:

Trends in ship-borne tourism in the Antarctic Treaty area over the past 10 years, including maritime incidents and future projections.
Developments in the International Maritime Organisation relating to ship-borne tourism in the Antarctic Treaty area.
Maritime Safety in the Antarctic Treaty area.
Protection of the Antarctic Environment.
Vessels flagged to non-Parties.
Cooperation between the ATCM and the International Maritime Organisation and the International Hydrographic Organisation.

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This meeting also produced useful recommendations that included the creation of checklists for Antarctic tourist vessels. Learn more about Antarctic tourism here.

Further information about ATMEs, including all documents from the meetings, can be found on the ATS website.