What’s happened under the Treaty regarding visitors and conservation?
There already exists Treaty Recommendation XVIII-1 (1994), which established guidelines regarding the conduct of visitors and operators. These are applied routinely throughout the Antarctic tour industry and have greatly assisted the management of tourism activities by expedition staff. Another avenue is Annex V of the Protocol, which calls for “area protection and management,” if necessary. Annex V requires a management plan approved by all Treaty Parties, which, then, is implemented by regulations in each Treaty country. Under this authority, certain sites can be totally protected and made completely off-limits to all visitors, without a special permit. These designations are called Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs). Alternatively, if a site is shown to be particularly sensitive to environmental disruptions from visitors, it may be designated as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA), which requires a management plan and a visitors’ code of conduct. This code may manage
