According to Annex II, the taking of Antarctic species means to kill, injure, capture, handle or molest a native mammal or bird, or to remove or damage such quantities of native plants or invertebrates that their local distribution or abundance would be significantly affected.
Annex II also establishes that harmful interference to an Antarctic species can occur due to multiple reasons, among which are: Annex II also prohibits the introduction onto land or ice shelves, or into water, in the Antarctic Treaty Area of any non-native species of living organisms, except in accordance with a permit.
Annex III prohibits the open burning or disposal of waste onto ice-free areas or into freshwater systems.
This Annex establishes prohibitions and restrictions on the dumping of waste from ships, while operating in the Antarctic Treaty area.
This Annex is part of the provisions of the convention to prevent Marine Pollution from ships, known internationally as MARPOL 73/78 (originally signed in 1973, with amendments in 1978), within the framework of which, in 1990, it was agreed to grant Antarctic waters the status of Special Zone, where greater restrictions must be observed than in other international waters.
Thus, any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixture, any noxious liquid substance, and any other chemical or other substances (in quantities or concentrations that are harmful to the marine environment), and all plastics (including but not limited to synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, and plastic garbage bags) shall be prohibited.
An Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) is a terrestrial or marine area that has outstanding environmental, scientific, aesthetic, historic or wilderness values, or ongoing or planned scientific research, that the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting[2] (ATCM), after any Party's proposal, designates as such to protect those values.
They are designated as ASMAs to help plan and coordinate activities, avoid potential conflicts of interest, improve cooperation between Parties or minimise adverse environmental impacts.
This Annex outlines arrangements to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies in the Antarctic Treaty area arising from scientific research programmes, tourism and other governmental and non-governmental activities.
It establishes the rules governing liability for environmental emergencies, and provides that compensation may be claimed from the polluter if that party has not taken prompt and effective response action.
However, some prohibitions and restrictions contained in the Treaty, especially those referring to nuclear activity, can be considered important from the environmental point of view.
Once the Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1961, a series of measures were agreed under the provisions of its article IX (which provides for the creation of measures aimed at "the preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica"), or in separate conventions, which focused on issues such as the protection of flora and fauna, the designation of protected areas, and waste and fuel management, among others.
[3] It also picked up environmental management elements that had been developed during the CRAMRA negotiations (such as emergency response provisions), as well as previous work of the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on waste management and marine pollution, respectively.
The Protocol set out new rules on environmental protection, including new restrictions to human activity in Antarctica and a framework to incorporate new issues through the elaboration of additional annexes.
Article 7 of the Madrid Protocol expressly prohibits any activity related to the exploitation of Antarctic mineral resources, except for scientific research.