Antarctica and Environment Security

Dr. Michele Devlin, Professor of Environmental Security at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Professor of Arctic Health and Human Security with the National Science Foundation’s UNI ARCTICente presents:

“Antarctica and Environment Security”

You rarely see “Antarctica” and “National Security” in the same sentence, but what is currently happening on the frozen continent, especially the expansion of Russian and Chinese interests, is critically important. The polar regions, both the Arctic and Antarctica, have experienced dramatic average temperature increases, 4 and 3 times the global average respectively. The resulting thawing of glaciers and ice sheets has impacted and will continue to impact the global environment. The Antarctica Treaty System, initially signed in 1959, was intended to preserve Antarctica as a protected sanctuary for scientific research. However, given the search for global resources, especially extractive mining, will Antarctica become a new center for geopolitical competition in future years as some nations attempt to weaken international treaties and gain greater access to the continent? Dr. Devlin will relate her experience studying and working in polar regions on environmental security issues, and recently returning from visiting the southern frozen continent.