Antarctic Specially Protected Area

An Antarctic area designated under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty to protect outstanding environmental, scientific, historical, or other values. Entry is restricted and generally requires a permit.

Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty: The 1991 treaty protocol that establishes comprehensive environmental protection for Antarctica and its dependent ecosystems. Its Annex V establishes protected-area designations and the rules governing entry.
Antarctic Treaty: The 1959 treaty that reserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes and establishes international cooperation in Antarctic science. The protected-area framework supplements this treaty’s governance of the continent.
Cape Crozier: A headland on Ross Island, Antarctica, containing important penguin colonies and a long history of scientific research. Its protected area safeguards wildlife and historical sites amid research activity.
Antarctic Specially Managed Area: An Antarctic area designated to coordinate activities and reduce environmental impacts without requiring a permit merely to enter. This neighboring designation manages competing uses rather than imposing protected-area entry controls.
Antarctic Specially Protected Area Management Plan: A site-specific plan setting out an Antarctic Specially Protected Area’s values, boundaries, rules, and management measures. Each designation relies on a plan to specify permitted activities and protection measures.
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources: The 1980 convention establishing ecosystem-based conservation for Antarctic marine living resources. Its ecosystem approach helped shape the environmental governance surrounding protected areas.
Deception Island: An active volcanic island in the South Shetland Islands with exceptional geological and historical features. Protected sites there conserve volcanic features and remains of human activity.
Antarctic wilderness: The largely undeveloped natural environment of Antarctica, valued for its remoteness, wild character, and ecological integrity. Wilderness protection is a broader environmental aim, not a specific legal designation.
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting: The annual meeting where Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties adopt measures and decisions on Antarctic governance. Consultative Parties adopt the measures that designate areas and approve their management plans.
Madrid Protocol: The common name for the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. Its adoption introduced the modern legal framework for Antarctic protected areas.

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