India facilitates first-ever focused working group discussions on Antarctic tourism

May 21, 2024

Ernakulam (Kerala), May 21 (ANI): India is set to play a pivotal role in facilitating the first-ever focused discussions on regulating tourism in Antarctica at the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat will organise these meetings in Kochi, Kerala, from May 20 to May 30, 2024. The gathering has over 350 participants from nearly 40 nations, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences press release. The occasion was graced by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), on May 21. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "This Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting in Kochi is very important for us and the global community. In this meeting, very important decisions are going to be taken. India is going to have a new enhanced station & regulated tourism will be enhanced in Antarctica. It is a very beautiful continent but is fragile, so we have to be very careful about its conservation & protection...This is a ten-day-long conference...The agenda is mainly about climate change, about studies & about how the member countries are to regulate their activities there, all important things are to be reviewed. The situation changes from time to time. We have to regulate the governance also..."