Form 2 , you are about to finish your work in Geography this session by studying a small unit on Antarctica. It is particularly approriate for us to be looking Antarctica in June this year as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting is being held in Edinburgh from the 12 -23 of the month.
At this meeting all the countries who have an interest in the Antarctic (45 countries in all) will discuss current issues which affect the part of our planet which lies south of 60 degrees south (i.e. not just the Antarctic continent). The meeting will culminate in the resigning of the Antarctic Treaty. The countries who sign the treaty agree to cooperate on matters concerning Antarctica. This includes the following :
scientific cooperation;
protection of the Antarctic environment;
conservation of plants and animals;
preservation of historic sites;
designation and management of protected areas;
management of tourism;
information exchange;
collection of meteorological data;
hydrographic charting;
logistic cooperation; and communications and safety
A number of events have been planned to coincide with the ATCM. Click on the penguins for full details!
I am lucky to have been invited to represent Scottish geography teachers at an evening reception on the 19th June hosted by the British Antarctic Survey and the Captain of HMS Endurance
