[5] This was needed due to increasing human interest in exploration, science, and fishing, which had put pressure on natural flora and fauna.

[5] Biologists were calling for awareness that Antarctica was not a lifeless tundra, but in fact had wildlife that was extremely vulnerable to human interference.

[5] At the first Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting at Canberra in 1961, parties agreed that some form of conservation effort was required, and implemented Recommendation I-VIII; a very broad set of interim guidelines which incorporated much of the SCAR report.

[5] At the third Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting at Brussels in June 1964, the Agreed Measures were passed as Recommendation VIII.

[7] During the 18 years interim, parties behaved as though the measures were in force, with all of Antarctica being considered a "Special Conservation Area".

[4] A participating government could only be exempt from these Measures in "extreme circumstances", such as involving the potential loss of human life or an event which may jeopardise the welfare of large vessels such as ships and aircraft.

Article VI also instructed that permits had to be restricted in number by participating governments to ensure that native species were not killed more than can be compensated naturally in the year.

[4] The Agreed Measures also established a framework for participating governments to communicate and share data on native Antarctic bird and mammal species in Article XII.

[3] This was despite the efforts of Robert Carrick and the Australian party, who advocated strongly for this to be included in the Agreed Measures, to protect animals who spend most of their lives on pack ice or in the seas surrounding Antarctica.

[5] This issue was rectified by the signing of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in 1972, and was the first treaty in the wake of the Agreed Measures.

[3] In 1975 at the Eighth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, they adopted Recommendation VIII-10 to protect marine life, which were excluded from the scope of the Agreed Measures.

[12][13] This issue had become increasingly urgent due to extensive fishing practices and overfishing of Antarctic krill which had become popular in the late 1960s to mid-1970s.

[2] Annex V of the Environmental Protocol followed that of the Agreed Measures, by designating "Specially Protected Areas" in Antarctica, and was adopted separately in 1991 and in force from 2002 onwards.

This includes the 1994 Recommendation XVIII-1: Guidance for Visitors to the Antarctic as well as the 2004 Guidelines for the Operation of Aircraft Near Concentrations of Birds in Antarctica.

[20] The Recommendation explicitly stated prohibited activities for tourists in order to prevent harmful interference with wildlife, as well as guidelines for respecting protected areas, and scientific research facilities and equipment.