The Madrid Protocol

CRAMRA did not enter into force. Instead, parties finalized a new
legally binding agreement in Madrid in October 1991, the Protocol on
Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (also known as the
Madrid Protocol). It entered into force in 1998 and designated
Antarctica “as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.”

Article VII of the Madrid Protocol bans mining, stating that “any

activity relating to mineral resources, other than scientific research,
shall be prohibited.” While this article can potentially be reviewed in
2048, legal safeguards preclude the ban from being lifted without a
legally binding regime regulating such activities within the framework
of the Antarctic Treaty (especially Article IV on territorial sovereignty)
being in place.

The Madrid Protocol also regulates all activities of its signatories on

the continent that may have an impact on the environment, including
the introduction of non-native species, the building and management
of research infrastructure, the restriction of human access to certain
areas, and the regulation of human interaction with fauna and flora. In
addition, it has ordered the removal of all dogs from the continent.
Because of the increasing complexity of Antarctic Treaty meetings and
the growing number of parties, an Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was
established in Buenos Aires in 2004.