Report on attendance at the Seventh Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Madrid Protocol

This report outlines the participation of the SC-CAMLR Chair in the Seventh Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP-VII) under the Madrid Protocol. The most important issues of relevance to SC-CAMLR are: (a) The CEP again addressed the issue of establishing ‘Specially Protected Species’. The CEP reviewed two Working papers presenting different views on some issues and prepared a suggested revised text for consideration by the ATCM, enclosing in square brackets those components of the revised text on which there was no agreement about the technical or legal nature of the text. (b) The CEP’s Intercessional Contact Group (ICG) on the State of the Antarctic Environment continued its work under agreed Terms of References. The Chair of the SC monitored progress as a member of the ICG. The CEP agreed to continue the ICG under modified Terms of References. (c) The CEP reviewed progress of the Antarctic Site Inventory to monitor and assess visitor sites in the Antarctic Peninsula. The ASI has collected biological data and site-descriptive information in the Antarctic Peninsula since 1994. The CEP agreed to establish an open-ended ICG to further address this issue. (d) Australia, the CEP Observer to CCAMLR XXII and SC-CAMLR XXII, presented an information Paper which highlighted the main aspects of CCAMLR’s XXII meeting of the Scientific Committee. Dr. Tony Press continues to serve as the CEP’s observer to the Scientific Committee.