"Foreword by Karen N. Scott" [2019] ELECD 2596; in Liu, Nengye; Brooks, M. Cassandra; Qin, Tianbao (eds), "Governing Marine Living Resources in the Polar Regions" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) xviii

Book Title: Governing Marine Living Resources in the Polar Regions

Editor(s): Liu, Nengye; Brooks, M. Cassandra; Qin, Tianbao

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section Title: Foreword by Karen N. Scott

Number of pages: 3

Extract:

Foreword
In H.P. Lovecraft's 1936 science fiction novella about a catastrophic
expedition to Antarctica, the main protagonist asserts `in spite of all the
prevailing horrors, we were left with enough sheer scientific zeal and
adventurousness to wonder about the unknown realm beyond those
mysterious mountains'.1 Scientific zeal and adventure have characterised
humankind's interaction with the Polar Regions for over 200 years. As
well as inspiring the literature of H.P. Lovecraft (and others), science
and collaborative adventure has shaped the law and politics of the Arctic
and the Antarctic to create exceptional and inspirational regimes. The
1920 Spitzbergen Treaty was the first modern arrangement to experi-
ment with traditional notions of sovereignty, and devised a regime for
territory and resources (including marine resources) based on principles
of non-exclusive sovereign control. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty adopted
a grand vision of collaborative management of more than 10 per cent of
the Earth's surface through a regime based on principles of peace and the
importance of scientific research. Throughout the Cold War, the Antarctic
Treaty operated as a forum for positive cooperative interaction between
opposing parties, and provided inspiration for other regimes such as the
1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the 1979
Moon Treaty. The Arctic was deliberately used to build trust between the
United States and Russia in the 1980s, leading to the creation of the Arctic
Council in 1996; a body that uniquely includes six indigenous peoples'
groups as full ...