Australia and the Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA)

Australia, a leading Antarctic state that played a key role in negotiating the Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, in May 1989 announced its opposition to the Convention and adoption instead of a World Park or Wilderness Reserve concept for Antarctica. This article examines possible environmental and economic reasons for Australia's attitude, which is likely to have significant implications for the future of the Convention and for the Antarctic Treaty System as a whole. -Authors