• All the territorial claims in Antarctica are without value and the continent is declared as professed natural reserve dedicated to peace and science. (see Treaty of Antarctica)
• Fragility of the environment

• Pressures on the resources
• Touristic pressures
• Territorial claims

Don't hesitate to be informed here, and read this letter:

In addition to facts we already know, living for fourteen months in Antarctica made me realize the fragility of this environment.  In fact, for fourteen months I was never ill.  Antarctica, being the coldest continent in the world (with yearly average temperature of around -10°C on the coasts and -60°C within the heart of the continent , lowest at -90°C) forbids bacteria, microbes and virus to survive. For the same reason, no invertebrates, neither insects nor terrestrial animals live.  Decomposers, which is the last link in the food chain do not even exist.  After 70 000 Adelie penguins left  the  island of the Pointe Géologie Archipelago, at the end of February a little before the ice floe  was formed, I saw the ground strewn over with the cadavers of Adelie penguins, new born and adults alike, they  did not survive summer.   The remains did not smell anything.  They were simply dried up by the sun during the brief summer in Antarctica.  They were frozen the rest of the year, buried under the snow and  be  revealed the following year.  The cadavers were mummified naturally.

Readers, if you bring and leave an apple in Antarctica, this will not rot.  After several weeks it will be frozen dry and will remain in that condition (except for the interruption of wind and ocean tides), wherever you left it.

More than thirty years before the end of the Antarctica Treaty (in 2048) which protects the continent and bound solely for peace and science, some oil-producing nations and multi-national companies already have eyes fixed on the resources of this virgin area.
For example, this article from "Figaro", on November 14, 2007 :

Great Britain demands for an exclusive right to use the big surface on the continental level on the vast of Antarctica. The area which they claim after the United Nations represent almost 1 million square meters. The aim is clearly to one day have the power to exploit the under-ground resources of this virgin region, like petrol, gas and metals.

The British initiative which meets a particular echo after the Russian claims in North Pole contravene mostly to the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which declares  the southern continent a natural reserve dedicated to scientific exploration,  froze all territorial claims in the nation and its extent.  In 1982, a national convention signed by the United Kingdom, exceeded the limit of the continent to protect the marine wildlife in Antarctica.  The cutting-out of the continent like slices of cake between Australia, Great Britain, Norway, New Zealand, Chile and France (Terre Adélie) that can be seen in several maps is not recognize in the international plan. For that matter the treaty which is in effect until 2048, prohibits any military activities in the continent, etc...

The British Claim irritated Chile and Argentina , which pretend to have the right over the same area as that of Great Britain.  The area in question expands from Falkland Islands on the north until the coast of the Antarctic peninsula on the south.

Furthermore, tourism (which today’s traffic surpassed those during the research) is still perfectly supervised and controlled, will give all the possible bid if the treaty is not extended. It will add a source of inconvenience and significant damage.

Friends, this big white continent, behind the vast pure planet, is today’s same source of greed in all aspect.  Its future is dim and the continent might become a battle field. The global warming and the wild exploitation of the resources are two nuisance in Antarctica which might lead to tragic consequences more than elsewhere.

The future is in our hands, between yours and mine. We must commit to a more efficient protective measure and renew the treaty permanently at the same time pressures are appearing from government, financial and industrial agencies: that's to say TODAY.  Do something for the world you live in. Commit yourself, like me, sign this petition.

Jonathan.