The two-week meeting at Edinburgh International Conference Centre addresses the future environmental, policy and legal challenges facing the continent that was designated for peace and science in 1961. Issues for discussion include enhanced scientific collaboration during the forthcoming International Polar Year, sustainable tourism, biological prospecting, and management of the effects of climate change on the Antarctic environment.

The meeting will be opened officially by HRH the Princess Royal. In a keynote address Lord Triesman, Minister for Overseas Territories, says,

'The importance of Antarctica as a platform for science cannot be underestimated. As the effects of climate change become more evident, it will be to the Antarctic that we must continue to turn for possible answers - both to examine the pre-history of our planet locked up in Antarctic ice, and to monitor the very stability of that ice-sheet. For sea-level rise, when it comes, will partly have its origins in the southern continent.'

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) undertakes as world-class programme of scientific research and plays an influential leadership role in Antarctic affairs. Professor Chris Rapley, Director of British Antarctic Survey, says,

'The Polar Regions are crucial to the stability of the planet. But while the Antarctic Treaty System ensures scientific cooperation and collaboration in Antarctica, and seeks to protect its environment, it will increasingly have to confront the impacts on the Antarctic of change outside its jurisdiction, raising new issues of global international negotiation. The forthcoming International Polar Year will provide the sound scientific underpinning for such policies and treaties'

The Antarctic Treaty came into effect in 1961 and is one of the world's most successful international agreements. The Treaty put all territorial claims into abeyance and designated the continent as a place for peace and science.

Antarctica is of global importance because science in Antarctica can help provide the answers to global concerns such as climate change. For example, ice cores from the Antarctic can tell us about the history of the earth's climate over the past 900,000 years.

Among the issues discussed at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting will be site guidelines for parts of in Antarctica that attract significant numbers of visitors, the environmental and safety implications of very large ocean liners visiting Antarctica and guidelines on the exchange of ballast water to protect Antarctica from invasive non-native species.

International Polar Year (IPY) takes place over 2007/08. A joint initiative by the Meteorological Organisation and International Council for Science, IPY's aim is for an international burst of scientific activity to enhance our understanding of the polar regions and thus our understanding of global processes.

British Antarctic Survey is a world leader in research into global issues in an Antarctic context. It is the UK's national operator and is a component of the Natural Environment Research Council. It has an annual budget of around �40 million, runs nine research programmes and operates five research stations, two Royal Research Ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica.

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