COrmac Cullinan has a dream. He says, the dream will change how you see humanity and understand it and relate to it to Antarctica. ” The home of the emperor and Adélie PenguinsEnvironmental lawyer says that the seals and the Russians, the reasons for nutrition for Orcas, the whales and potatoes – must be recognized as an independent legal entity “at least an equation for a country.”
This week, this dream became one step to reality, where the judges were given Colinnan Clauscon medal to protect the polar areas.
The prestigious prize, which is worth 10,000 pounds, sheds light on people who showed “courage, design, creativity and leadership” in their work to protect the polar areas, indicating the radical Cullinan Plans to adopt and implement Antarctica’s Declaration It acquires momentum.
Colinn, who is based in South Africa and was previously an anti -group activist, achieved a recognition of his work, often successfully, in order to recognize the rights of rivers, forests and things “unlike humans” so that it can be defended in court cases. The idea of giving the legal “personal” types and places shown in his book 2002, land law: a statement of the justice of the earthand It became part of a A wider global movement recognizes the rights of nature and animals.
Colinn is now arguing that Antarctica As a whole, this legal personality should have, preferably at the state level. He says, “We have to turn how people are associated with Antarctica.” “It is very necessary to protect it, not only for itself, which is clearly valid, but also for humanity.”
Instead of being treated by the international community and legal courts as “a region demanded by a number of countries that have suspended the flags in the ice for a while … at best, at best, at the worst of the conditions, a possible source of oil, gas, minerals and Krill”, he wants to protect the Antarctica legally as a “reckless and living society” and “its own being.”
“It should be clear that the Antarctica is very brutal and very fierce for humans to rule,” he says. “It should be seen as what it is: sovereignty in itself.”
Antarctica is subject to the ATS Treaty system, a framework created in 1959 and signed 58 countries. This ensures that the continent is used exclusively for peaceful purposes, such as science and memorization. Kulianan says it was a major achievement at the time, when there were proposals to extract the Antarctica and countries that contradict their competing claims.
Now the main challenges that Antarctica faces from the climate crisis, which is the result of activities outside its geographical borders.
At the same time, countries like China and Russia have prevented conservation measures constantly Like creating new marine protected areas. “There is a dilemma within the system, Collinan says, while from an environmental perspective, the situation deteriorates very quickly and scientists say we must take urgent and decisive measures.”
The purpose of the Antarctica declaring a legal entity and defining its rights is to create similar obligations for other countries – and international organizations such as the United Nations – to respect those rights. “The Ice Mountain does not really care whether you think it has rights or not. The issue is: Are there human duties to respect the safety of ice fields?”
If the ice cover is completely dissolved in Antarctica, It will raise the levels of the world sea surface About 58 meters. In 2020, An article in the Journal of Nature Estimates indicate that even one meter in height will put “48 % of the land area in the world, 52 % of the world’s population and 46 % of global origins” at the risk of floods.
“It is not possible to leave a small group of countries to make decisions on Antarctica,” says Colinan, who helped formulate a 2010 global advertisement for the rights of the Earth’s mother and participated in the founding of the Global Coalition for Nature Rights.
“If human beings are living there, who were the indigenous population in Antarctica, they will have a government that could represent them in climate change negotiations or biological diversity agreements. The government will be a strong voice, because Antarctica and the southern ocean cover 10 from the surface of the planet.”
But the Antarctica has no sound. “It is not represented in these decision-making bodies-and the countries that govern it under ATS still argues from a national perspective, and take positions in decision-making for their national interests, while scientists and other people who really love Antarctica are completely committed to protecting it.”
In contrast, the Antarctic Declaration will realize that all organisms in Antarctica have rights that humanity must respect and protect. People around the world are invited to support it and announce the new legal status of “Personality” in Antarctica. “It can be represented after that,” says Colinan.
“It can have a seat on the table, and lawsuits can start or join lawsuits around the world to prevent more greenhouse emissions.”
He adds that the award will help raise awareness, which is needed for the Antarctic Declaration. “This initiative will attract the attention of people in a way that it had taken for another years to achieve, and we linked us to a network of polar explorers and Antarctica experts, we may be able to persuade them to join us.
“We have a very strong essential group, but we need to build a global movement about this – we need to show that Antarctica is everyone’s concern.”
