UK OPPOSITION PARTIES REJECT GOVERNMENT POLICY
Transcription
UK OPPOSITION PARTIES REJECT GOVERNMENT POLICY
M a c l r i tl, Sp a in A p r i l 22 - 30 , l9 9 l V o lu m c I , X XX Nuttrllcr I J G _A- __ -.r =dl a ... ECO -G.. --AN NGO NEWSPAI'E,RI'UBLISHED for the XI ANTARC'I'IC'I'RI.]ATYSPECIA[,CONSULTATIVEMEETING Japanhasnowjoinedthe ranksof thosecallingfor a prohibitionon mineralresourcc activitiesin Antarctica.This representsa major shift by a country long secnas committedto the mining option. We stronglyapplaudthis enlighteneddecisionby Japan,which now leavesonly the reactionaryrump of the UK and USA stronglypursuingmining in Antarctica. UK OPPOSITIONPARTIESREJECTGOVERNMENTPOLICY Gcrald l(aufrnan,the Labour Party's shadowForcignMinistcrcamco Madrid on thc openingday of thc SCM o prorcst$e UK Goramment'sproposal for a moratoriumon mincralactivides in thc.Anurctic. Hc saidthatthel-abour party opposed the ratification of CRAMRA and now opposcd any moratoriumon mining."{ moraorium is a compromiscwhich leavcsopcnlhc option to minc at somc futurc datc" and " this was not acccpuble to thc l:bour Party." He saidthatany futurc l-abourGovcmmentwould havc onc Anrarcdcpolicy- thatAntarcricashould bc a World Parkand thcy would "not ncccssarily bcboundby anyagrocmcnt madc this weck by thc UK Govcrnmcnl" Thc l-abourparty is thc official and largcstoppositionto Orc currcntConscrvativcGovcrnmcnt. movc on thc l8th April, In a srcparatc PaddyAshdown,leadcrof the Libcral Dcmocra6, wrote a public lettcr to Ore PrimeMinistcrJohnMajor. Hebrought Mr Major's attendono the proposalto dcsignatcAntarcticaa"NatureRescrve -L:nd of Science.- "It is a matbr of grcirt corrcrn to me that thedtemadve proposal has bccn prt fonvard by the would UnitcdKingdom.ls acceptance prcjudice ths futurc of thc Antarcdc cnvironment by guarantccingthc inuoducdonof a mincralsrcgimcaftcr a shon dclay." Hc bclicvcs that thc "Forcign officc hasrcpcatcdlymislcd MPs and thc British public [andl thcy havc badly misjudgedthc mood of publicopiniononprcscrvingthcfragilc wildcmcss of Anrarcdca." BoOrl-:bour andthc Libcral Dcmocrat Particshavc advocatcda World Park Jxitrcy for almosttwo ycars. WiOrOrc prospecrof a gernral elcction by next ycar thc oppsition paniesare making it known that they rclxt thc UK's currentAntarcticpolicy.Wcrc thcreto be a change of Govcrnment both opposition panies havc pledgcd Ont their Antarcticpolicy.rould crnbracca pennancntmining ban. THE BIGREDBUSTHEUK ONTHE ROADTO MINING Thc Grccnpcace doublc-dcckcr informationbusisparkcdonGcncral Pcron.36, thrcc minulcsfrom thc confcrcncc.All dclcgatcswclcomc. PA€€ I G I ' RM A NY .IOIN S I} AN Aftcr rccciving rcns of thousandsof l)rotcstpostcards,Gcrman Ministcr o[ lntlustry JucrgcnMcrl lcmannlurssutcd thatGcrmanywill pushfora pcrmancnt mining ban. Ccrmany thcrcby loins thc growing group of nations that supg)n a prohibition liftcd only by conscnsus. Forcign Affairs Ministcr Gcnschcr cxprcsscrl his supJnrt for an Antarctic World Park in Novcmbcr 1990,but thc linal dccision on thc minenrls qucstion lay with thc Ministry of lndustry. ECO co m m ends M o c l l c m a n n fo r h i s sultcmcnt. Thc Gcrman govcrnmcnt clcarly rccognizcs that prorccting thc Anurctic cnvironmcnt is more vital rhan spcculativc cconomic intcrcsts in thc rcgion. .US' AND THEM readingoftheUS Eventhemostcasual positian on mineralsat this meeting revealsnumeroushalf-truthsand false assumptions.It is, howerar,wonhwhile to firsr lmk at thepolititzl atmospherc fromwhichOrispolicydevelopedThose not intimalely connectcd with the developmenrof policy within the US, mightwell wonderwhyrheUSposirion d@sn't rcflect the desires of the American people, the Congress,the Marine Mammal Commission,or the Administrator of the Environmental hotection Agency (the executive agency drarged wi0t protecting fte environment) All of lhe abovehave, in Orepast 12 months,indicaredtheir supportforaprohibitiononcommercial mineralsactivitiesin Antirctica. So who docssupportUS policy? The slrqrgestsupponoomesfrom thesame agencies in the governmentwhich recently releasedthe US strategy for encrgy "indepcndence": the Departmcns of lnterior and Energy. This straagyoutlinesanenergyfuturc thatcontinueso rcly heavilyon fcsil fuels,andemphasises tre necdfor securc and reliablesourcies to fccd the US's ?Ac1€ z oil addiction. Tlrc dcvcloprncntof cxploitablc oil rcscrvcsin ccologically scnsitivc arcaslikc thc Arctic National Wildlitc Rcfugc is kcy to Amcrica's cncrgy "indcpcndcncc." Thc similaritics bctwccn US Antarctic 6rlicy and it-sdomcsticcncrgy stratcgy providcs a pcrspcctivc from which onc c:rn bcttcr undcrsurndthc dcvclopmcnt and pcrsistcncc o[ this now isolatcd position. To funhcr clarify wtrat thc position mcans, onc must rcmovc lhc diplomatic smokc.scrccnand cxaminc the rcalitics bchind OrcUS position. jcwcl of CRAM RA was clrvironrncntal conscnsust(t opcn an arca.Dcspitcthc fact that thcy opJxlscdthis provision until thc bittcr cnd, thcy claimcd it cmtxrdicdtlrcspirit of thcTrcatysysrcm andcnsurcdany du:ision to minc would bc agrcul by all. 'I'lrat is csscntially, conscnsusto lift wrappcd in a mining convcntion. Suddcnly, rcmovcd from lhc contcxt of CRAMRA, conscnsus h:rs lost it-sappal. Thc opcning paragraphof rhc US paper dcclarcs Orcircommitmcnt to rcstoring conscnsuswithin thc Treaty systcm. A laudable goal to bc surc, but rhe US spcaks from both sides of irs mouth whcn it comesto conscnsus.It is a lact thatof thosccountrieswhich have|aken a strong position on this issrrc, tlre majority favour a prohibirion lifted by consensus. Not the US: they oppose lifting by consensus. Not cvcn tJrcUK and US will arguc that mining is appropnatcat this rimc. It only makqs senscthat any changc in this lnsition, whcthcr ir bc in 50 or 500 ycars,should bc agrccd o by all Partics. Thc US papcr declarcs rlrcir position to bc "a significant shifi" from thcir position at thc I 989 ATCM, "supporting tllc immcdratc cntry into forcc of CRAMRA." .Thc Unircd Starcshas always bccn a strong champion of CRAMRA, never hiding irs inrcntion to keep thc door to Anrarctic mining ajar. To suggcstthat its currcnt position represcntsa change is outrageous. CRAMRA, on the orher hand. is a different story altogether. During the course of the domestic positioning following the CRAMRA negoriarians, US officials proudly announced !o environmental ists that the The US has proposed a dme-specihc prohibition of no more rhan ztOyean. linked to CRAMRA or a 'CRAMRAlike' rcgimc. Given that Antarctic mining is unlikely to be technologically feasible or cconomically sound before Horpoons,drifl nels.oll pollufion. gorboge dumps,the ozonehole... whol will lhey lhlnkof nexl? $r Moybe lhey'll lind o woy lo mell lhe lce suchtimc - tlrc vicw of thc Officc of Tcchnology Asscssmcnt- thc US lnsition hasnot rcally changedat all. This lnsition mcrely amounlsto lhc dclaycdcntry into forceof CRAMRA. withnoriskofforcsullingactualmining. In an attempt to justify thcir intransigcnccon thc mincrals issuc, thcy have dccidcd to charge thc with theverysameoffence, opSrosition that"the{lcxibility wehave demanding shown ncedsto be matchedby those proJnsinga pennanentban." The US suggessthatit is doingall the moving - makingall Oresacrifices- in thcsenegotiations.But, what exactly, havetlreyoffered?TheysayCRAMRA; however, the US did not offer up CRAMRA -it was taken away. CRAMRA became politically unsaleable, domestically and internationally,and they werc forced rc abandon hopes of is immediate edry into force. In truth theUS hasnot budgedfrom its mincralspositian,ard is policy hasjustbeenrcpackagedasa short-term prohibition, linked to CRAIv{RA's kin. ECO scnds its bcst wishcs to Cath and suggcsts to dclcgatcs at this mccting Oratthis is furthcr proof, if proof wcrc nccdcd. Otat Orc outsidc world now watchcs Antarctica closcly. GREENPEACE I99O/9I ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION Onccagain,thcExtpditionrcturnsfrom thcAntarcticwith amplcdocumcntation of cnvironmentalimpacs and failurc to comply with cxisting Trcaty obligations.Onccagain,we havesccn that most counlrics cannotrun cvcn small bascsin a clcan way. Thc nccdfor an cffcctivc,cnforccablc, and comprchensivcrcgime that pus six0rAntarcticExpcdition Grecnpeacc's Orcprotectionof thc environmcnll-rst hasjrst trnistted.It irrludcd thcrcsupply is manifcst. The Anurctic dcscrves of World Park Baseon Ross lsland, and requircs rcal commitmentfrom several days shadowing the Japanese thoseat this Meeting in order to halt whaling flect,and an exrcndedvoyagc thcseabusesand ensureis protection in the areaof the AntarcticPeninsula. as the last great wildernesson earth. At King GeorgeIsland,offtheAntarctic Peninsula,a four-person environmental monitoring team w:rs installed on the Fildes Peninsulafor onemonth. Theteamstudiedtlreimpact of four bases(GreatWall - People's Republic of China, BellingshausenUSSR, Teniente N[arsh - Chile, and Artigas - Uruguay) on the local environmenL The expedition documented many continuing abuses of the fuitarctic envirurment. Among thesewere 0rc This 'flexibility', ccording o the US, UK's is nccessaryo bridgethe mp betwecn abandonedbases;dnrms leaking oil u the nro so4all€d exremes. With theabardmed Chileansation Gonzalez precious few mtions still clinging o Videlt4 a large fuel spill at Teniente mining, thocc favouring a prohibition N[arsh Sovier heary-vetricle tnrcksgain sqport daily. tt amears obviors evidentthroughouttheFildesPeninsula; thatthercis mly one'extreme'pcitbn adump (thatnobodyatEsperanzaknew left - thatof theUS.In ordertoachieve anyttring about!) in the midsr of a uuc consenils in the fuitarcric Treaty penguin colony: medical wastes Systan, it is this extremism whictr irrcluding blood-n[ed synngeson the must be abandm€d. ground at Bellingshausen; and oilsoakedmossbedsat Arruro PratConsensus,aftcr dl, is srppcedly at the rmt of US AntarcticFolicy! It is nothing strortof a disgracerhar0ris arca"oncedestinedo becornean SPA, CONGRATULATIONS, CATH is now littered with buildings. garbage, vehicle trrcks and an airstrip. New Prominent Zealand andlong-rcrmASOC lv{ostbasescontinw o burn rutbistr in environmentalist campaiguCathWallre waspresrtcd the open, and many still put untreatcd with the prestigious Goldman fmd scrapsout for the birds. Our final Prizcin SanFrarisco Environmcntal visit was to Ecuador's new base ycstcrday.This is fiuing reoognition lvlaldonado, which was constnrcted of her woft on fuitarctic and New without anenvironmental impact T,r:,larrdminingissues. assesgnent. UK GOVERNMENT POLICY: DIPLOMACY OR DUPLICITY? On 25 March,after is much-heralded 'policy review', the UK proudly to0teBritishpblic achange announced in its position on the mining issue.In yet another attempt at achieving consensus,it would now support a temporary moratorium on mining. However, it world leaveopenfor this meeting the questions of length of moratoriumand the rnectunismwhich would apply when it ended. Simultaneouslythe UK circulated o parties specific proposalsconccrning the mechanisn, and made il lnown privately that the UK flike 0re US) favoureda specifrctime frameof 20 o 40 pars for 0re moratorium.Afterthis pcriod a CRAIv{RA-like insnrnent would still come ino force. lvlakeno misake, the UK position regardingthe moratorium is contingentuponsrch a commitmenL Frankly, it is shamefulthat ar thesame time that it is in fact obsrncring the achievementof a mining ban,the UK can claim lcadershipin the moveso protect Antarctica at homc. It doesnot takc a mandarino calculate that a short term morataium followed by'Son of CRAMRA would give the LJKprecisclywhatit wants- aoccss to mincrals in 0te "British Antarctic ?^ee 3 Tcrritory". Witlr a UK gcncral clcction duc within thc ncxt l2 months,isn't it about timc tlrc UK came clcan with its elcctorate on what its Anhrctic plicy rcally is? WIIO'S WIIERE??? A pcrmancnt ban on mining in Antarcdcaseemsnx)rcauainableUtan cvcr, with an increasingnumber of statcs now loking o a ban as the appropriatcresolutionof the minerals issue: Gcrman Minister of lndrstry, Mr. Moellernann,confirmedthathiscounry would support rnthing less lhan a permanentbanon miningin Antarctica. The Netherlandsfavoursan indehnite prohibition which can only be ended with a consersrs decision. It also requiresa oonsensu agrcementon a legally binding mining regime before anymineralsrctivities canstart"strould the prohibition be liftcdNewZcaland rcmainscommitted to a proposalforapermanentban,rc4uiring a unanimou agrcement3oreview and to lift the ban if $e decision is o debatedin the future. Japan has tablcd a proynsal calling for a ncgoliation of a scparatcagrgcmcnt o n mi n cral rcsourcc acti vi ti cs, supgnning a prohibition, rcquiring conscnsusto lift, and thc providing for ilrc pssibility of rcvicw at somc timc in thc futurc. Thc US, is mainnining thc samc instructions il had for thc SCM in Chilc. This position amountsto a shon-term moratorium, uckcd to CRAMRA or an equivalcnt to bc entcredinto forcc al theexpirationof the mcatorium, unlesslherc is no consensusto continuethe ban. The U.K. is seekinga fixcd short-term moralorium,with a reviewconference prior to its end witr a commitmcntto negotiarca mineralsrcgimeif desired. Chile has tabled a paperon minerals supportingagohibition, andspecifying the necd for consensusto liftAustralia,Belgium,Franceand ltaly rernain Frrm in their demand for a prohibition, to be only altered by otxsensrs,wi$ thepcsibility of review aftcr 60 yean. Brazilian PresidentCollor de Mello has announced the Brazilian government'ssupportfor a pennanent mining ban. Volumc LXXX Numbcrl PRODUCTIONTEAM: Evclyn Hurwich SusanSabclla Rick Schwabachcr JagdishPatcl Maria LuisaToribio Aurora Cardosa Alan Hcmmings Paul Bogart [.cna Hagclin JamcsMartin-Jorps l,ouise Wright. ECO is an occasional ncwspapcr publishcdby FriendsofOrcEarthand othcrs at intemationalmeetingsof environmcntal importance. This volume is a irint project of the Antarctica Project, Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, and Greenpeace International, WWF Intemational, CousteauFoundation, CODEFF, and ECO New Tealand. The editaial office is at Hotel Gran Atlanta, Comandante?nnra, 34-36. Phons Madrid 553 59 00. ECO is financed from nongorremmentalsources.ECO's roles are: to provide ideasand alternative proposalsfq the beneFrtofdelegates to intergovernmenhl meetings; to r€pon on and analysethe meetings; o infmn thepublicin mdero gercrate wide-ranging debarc;and o clarify the issuesfor the media. Special thanks lo the CS Fund, Schcrman Foundation, Tlueshold Formdetion,GrcerperceInternational ard WWF lntemadoml. _Jil L-i:llilT"ti PAGC+ ECO