Antarctic Treaty XII SATCM/IP29 XII Special Consultative Meeting October, 2000 Traité de l'Antarctique Original: English XIIe Réunion consultative spéciale Tratado Antártico Agenda Item XII Reunión Consultiva Especial (CEP) 4e Антарктический Договор XII Специальное Консультативное Совещание Environmental protection activities at the Russian Antarctic station Bellingshausen Submitted by Russian Federation Environmental protection activities at the Russian Antarctic station Bellingshausen (Special ATCM, 11-16 September, 2000, CEP III, IP, Item 4a, submitted by the Russian Federation) The decision of the Government of the Russian Federation (August, 1997) “On the Activity of the Russian Antarctic Expedition for the period 1997-2001” has governed the necessary RAE scales and pointed to the need for undertaking urgent nature protection activities in relation to ratification by the Russian Federation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Protocol). The Protocol was ratified by the Russian Federation in May 1998. The Bellingshausen station (King George Island) was defined as one of priority areas for nature protection measures. In compliance with the aforementioned Decision, the scope and number of research programs at this station were significantly reduced resulting in a substantial decrease of personnel making free a number of station facilities many of which being disassembled and prepared for shipping from the Antarctic. Due to a general decrease in the station logistics activities, the environmental anthropogenic load has strongly reduced. At the present time, the scientific-logistics activity of the station has become of a purposeful nature protection character - garbage disposal in the area, dismantling of structures, preparation of waste for removal and monitoring of the impact of activities of the stations in the area on the environment. In order to undertake the efficient nature protection measures at the Bellingshausen station, the arrangement successfully applied before during the 1992-1996 joint Russian- German activities for cleaning the Schirmacher Oasis was used. This arrangement envisages nature protection activities both during the austral summer season and during the wintering cycle of the station operation allowing a continuous work progress. This permitted engagement of all station personnel in nature protection activities regardless of the season of the year. The main executor of the work was a specially set up seasonal team of 9 persons including experienced specialists, participants in several RAEs with training in different fields at a high professional level. This allowed efficient operation of transport, crane, bulldozer and other vehicles including necessary gas-cutting, electrical welding, sanitary technical, electrical technical, joiner and other repair-construction work. The most significant results for the last 2.5 years from the start of work are as follows: 1. From 1999, the permanent wintering personnel of the station was 2.5 times reduced making free many of the station infrastructure facilities and much of equipment. 2. A large part of the station territory was completely cleared, the dilapidated buildings, antenna- mast structures, old water lines, open storage sites of materials and equipment and waste dump sites were removed. 3. Six of eight existing working-living station buildings were decommissioned for the winter season and the external repair of station structures. 4. All fuel and lubricants and tanks for their storage at the oil base were placed to closed storage space. 5. The upper-air sounding complexes and powerful diesel-generators (200 kW) were dismantled and shipped from the Antarctic. 6. The station land territory was improved with construction of bridge crossings across the streams and macadam adding to some station sites. 7. All waste collected in the station territory was concentrated in one place for subsequent shipping from the Antarctic onboard a special ship, which is planned for the end of the 2001- 2002 summer season. The aforementioned work was done on the basis of a specifically prepared long-term Russian program of reorganizing the Bellingshausen station. Beginning from 1998, the British non-governmental ecological organization “One Step Beyond Expedition” takes part in these activities. The most real interaction between the RAE and the indicated British organization was during the 1999-2000 season when eight volunteers - citizens of Russia, participated from the British side in the nature protection measures at the Bellingshausen station. In addition, the organization “One Step Beyond Expedition” provided some necessary materials and equipment for nature protection activities that were delivered to Antarctica from Great Britain onboard the Russian vessel. The priority nature protection activities at the Bellingshausen station including work on cleaning the station territory and removal of the accumulated waste from the Antarctic are to be fully completed before 2002. In 2000-2001, the RAE plans to organize the studies under the program of geochemical monitoring of water bodies in the vicinity of Bellingshausen as the most exposed to a cumulative impact of the activities of Antarctic stations. For this purpose it is envisaged to use special measurement equipment of Russian manufacture that was successfully used during the activities in the Schirmacher Oasis (Novolazarevskaya station) and Larsemann Hills (Progress station) and Tereshkova Hills (Molodezhnaya station). .