Antarctic conservation policies and practies: Towards a more inclusive and sustainable future

• Published in: The Geographical Journal
• Main Author: Senatore, Maria Ximena
• Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico, Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons 2022
• Subjects: Antarctic Treaty System; Conservation policies; Wilderness; Heritage; Inclusive and sustainable conservation models; Antarctic; Norway; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/130396; https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12502

Contemporary archaeology brings a unique perspective from which to critically think about Antarctic Treaty System conservation policies and practices concerning material things. The article begins by highlighting how they have relied on several underlying assumptions, which we summarise as the “wilderness” and “heritage” principles. It then discusses how these policies and practices have often led to nonsustainable or noninclusive outcomes. In particular, the application of the wilderness and heritage principles to environmental conservation has, on the one hand, reinforced the dominant images and narratives of Antarctica, selectively neglecting and erasing diverse human and nonhuman stories, and on the other hand, led to human-thing entanglements that are currently difficult to overcome. The paper conclusions encourage readers to envision more inclusive and sustainable conservation models by challenging the assumptions underlying current policies and practices. The author’s participation in the Workshop “Political Philosophy Looks to Antarctica. On its 60th birthday, is the Antarctic Treaty in good health?” at the University of Oslo, on which this paper is based, was supported by the Research Council of Norway under project number 267692, "Political Philosophy Looks to Antarctica".