How is the science-based stewardship of the Southern Ocean organized and could it be applied to the Arctic Ocean?

During this workshop, the science-based stewardship of the Southern Ocean will be described by Belgian scientists and authorities participating to the Antarctic Treaty System. The possibility to use a similar approach will be discussed with the public, especially the role of scientists in the policy-making, and how it could be improved.
The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, designated the Antarctic (area south of 60°S) as an area dedicated to peace and science. It was later complemented by a couple of legally binding international agreements, which form part of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) in order to give a better protection to the Antarctic environment. For the sustainable management of the Southern Ocean (south of the Antarctic Convergence), the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was adopted in 1980. CCAMLR makes decisions on matters such as total allowable catches, closing and opening fisheries, and the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Its specificity is that the management of fisheries in CCAMLR is guided by an ecosystem-based approach, scientific data and modeling Later, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1991. It focusses on the continent itself but has also some responsibilities for the protection of marine zones when they are included in Antarctic Protected Areas (ASPA’s and ASMA’s) with a marine component. The connectivity between land and ocean highlight the need of cooperation between the two ATS organizations. Thus, there are meetings between the Scientific Committee of CCAMLR (SC-CCAMLR) and the CEP to discuss how marine spatial protection and management can best be performed across the Antarctic Treaty System, and to seek some harmonization. In the frame of current climate change and related threats, it becomes very urgent to realize a network of representative MPAs.
Scientists carry out relevant research that is the basis to provide scientific advice for policy decisions, but they do not always recognize this or find the communication difficult. They may reach to policy-makers through several channels: the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), their national delegates to CCAMLR and the Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP), but also the Antarctic Environments Portal (www.environments.aq). The interaction between science and policy is crucial but also depends on possibilities for the scientists to gather the needed data and thus, for example, depends on funding for long-term monitoring schemes.