Date/Time
Date(s) - Fri 29 September
16:00 - 17:00
Location
CO304, Cotton Building, VUW
Protection of the Antarctic environment has been a focus of the Antarctic Treaty Parties since 1964. In 1991 the Parties consolidated a range of environmental measures into a single comprehensive regime in the form of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol sets out some tough rules to regulate human activities in the region and to minimise harm to the natural environment and wildlife.
The Antarctic Treaty System has been hailed as one of the most successful international regimes. It has withstood external challenge and membership has grown over the years reinforcing its status and credibility. But is the success of the past a guarantee of future performance? The Antarctic environment is facing a number of challenges, including non-native species establishments and, in some parts of the region, a rapidly changing climate.
This talk will review the Antarctic environmental regime, assess its effectiveness and ask whether the current Antarctic environmental regime is resilient enough to respond to the emerging pressures.
Biography: Neil has spent most of his career working on polar issues. In 1985 he joined the British Antarctic Survey to undertake a programme of work on Antarctic near-shore marine ecology, completing his his PhD in 1991. Between 1991 and 1994 Neil continued his association with Antarctica in the role of permanent Base Commander overseeing an array of operational issues for one of the UK’s Antarctic research stations.
After a period working for the UK government on marine impact studies, Neil joined the Polar Regions Section of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. In that capacity Neil worked on a wide range of polar policy issues and represented the UK at meetings of the Antarctic Treaty and its Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). He also represented the UK at numerous Arctic Council Senior Arctic Official and Ministerial meetings.
In 2003 Neil joined Antarctica New Zealand as Manager: Health, Safety and Environment and continued to attend meetings of the CEP as New Zealand’s representative. Between 2006 and 2010 Neil served as Chair of the 35-country Committee.
In 2014 Neil established his own health, safety and environmental consultancy company and has worked on a range of health & safety and environmental initiatives, including Antarctic projects, in that capacity.
.All Welcome