Marine protected areas: a spark for contestation over ‘rational use’ of Antarctic marine living resources in the Southern Ocean?

Over the last decade, there have been several proposals attempting to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) within the Southern Ocean under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention). However, despite much work undertaken by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and its Scientific Committee, only one MPA has been designated near the South Orkney Islands in 2009. More recent MPA proposals have been contested with some CCAMLR members claiming that ‘rational use’ of the CAMLR Convention area (as it appears in the objects clause of the CAMLR Convention) does not support the establishment of such MPAs. This article shows how international law rules on treaty interpretation might assist in resolving such disputes. We also suggest that recent interpretative disputes over the meaning of ‘rational use’ of the CAMLR Convention area are consistent with wider value conflicts over use of marine resource activities in the Southern Ocean. These value conflicts may need to be managed diplomatically in order to avoid escalation.