Antarcticas serenely primitive wilderness faces an uncertain future as debate continues over the question of tapping into the continents wealth of mineral resources. Beginning in the early 1950s, scientists began to notice the value inherent in such an unusual and largely undiscovered continent and began establishing research stations there. By 1958, the International Geophysical Year (IGY) saw twelve countries establish over 60 bases, both on and around the Antarctic continent, with some countries claiming parts of Antarctica as sovereign territory. The countries initially involved in the scientific body known as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) included the United States, Chile, Argentina, Norway, France, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Belgium, Russia and Japan. SCAR now includes Germany and Poland as members of the organization which aims to coordinate a number of scientific and working group programs and to further facilitate the sharing and planning of scientific information relating to Antarctic research, such as Climate Change.
The successful establishment of SCAR and the IGY in Antarctica was due in large part to cooperation between the countries involved, and led directly to the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, which has administered Antarctic affairs since 1961 when it officially entered into force. The Antarctic Treaty, signed during mounting Cold War tensions, successfully banned all military activity, nuclear testing, and the dumping of radioactive materials on the continent. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Madrid Protocol, entered into force in 1998 and serves as an additional mechanism for ensuring the protection of the Antarctic environment. The Madrid Protocol goes further than the original treaty as it designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science and places a moratorium on mining and drilling for Oil for a minimum of 50 years. The Protocol sets forth basic principles and detailed, mandatory rules which apply to all human activities in Antarctica.