The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
and its annexes contribute substantially to contemporary international
law prohibiting marine pollution, As the Protocol approaches obtainin
g the number of ratifications necessary for entry into force, its rele
vance for international ocean law accordingly becomes more salient, Th
us, measures in the Protocol and its annexes take on particular import
ance, as they are made to apply to all sources of pollution affecting
the Southern Ocean ecosystem (i.e., sources from land, dumping, vessel
s, the atmosphere and the seabed), Such an all-encompassing approach w
ell serves to bolster both the normative and policy framework for effe
cting antipollution marine law in the region. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsev
ier Science Ltd