The Committee for Environmental Protection

The Committee for Environmental Protection was established in Article 11 of the Environment Protocol, according to which the Committee consists of representatives from all Parties to the Protocol.

Antarctic Treaty Parties not Party to the Protocol have Observer status in the Committee, as do the President of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Chairman of the Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (SC-CAMLR) and other organisations invited by the Committee and approved by the ATCM.

The Committee shall present a report on each of its sessions to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. The Report is circulated to Parties and Observers and is then made publicly available.

The Committee's functions are further defined in Article 12:

The functions of the Committee shall be to provide advice and formulate recommendations to the Parties in connection with the implementation of this Protocol, including the operation of its Annexes, for consideration at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and to perform such other functions as may be referred to it by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings.

The CEP normally meets once a year in conjunction with the ATCM, but it can also meet at other times as necessary to carry out its functions. However the Final Report of any CEP meeting requires the approval of an ATCM.

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