by Ryan Bendall

Created on: August 28, 2008

With claims to the surface of the moon already being on the tips of many big entrepreneurs tongues it is unfeasible to expect the Antarctic to remain untouched especially in the difficult years ahead of us.

In bible years the planet faces a possible global energy crisis in the not so distant future and it is unrealistic to expect countries who have such strong connections to this goldmine to leave it alone in the light of protecting the ecosystem. It has to be noted that even if a country were to claim rights to this block of ice and the lucrative sea bed below it that in this day and age it is not even feasibly possible to extract the resources that it holds. The depths are just too great, but the general consensus is that by the time our reserves are dwindling we will most likely have the technology to harvest this great wealth that lives under the icy regions of the Antarctica.

On Wednesday the 17th of October 2007 the Guardian published its insights into Britain's numerous pending claims of sea beds not only under the Antarctic but also in the Falklands and the seabed around Southern Georgia. A claim for the seabed in the Bay of Biscay is currently already logged with the United Nations in a joint venture by Britain, France, Ireland and Spain which clearly shows that they are not afraid to state a claim to what they believe should rightly be theirs.

The pending claim for the Antarctica by Great Britain is reported to be a size of seabed 1 million square kilometres in area, which is 386,000 square miles. This in itself is an undermine of the 1959 Antarctic treaty to which Great Britain has signed along with 45 other countries. My first point for why Britain should process its rightful claims to this resourceful stock is the point that Britain's claims only spark other nations to state their claims to the land and not argue for its preservation. I will not be arguing Britain's historical rights to why they should land grab but it is however a factor and should be considered in the application.

As a British person it is my opinion that Britain has rolled over too many times when it has come to international politics and in this instance where it has a leg to stand on it should fully initiate its claims before somebody else does.

A part of UN policy allows states to extend their territorial rights over the ocean floor on an adjacent continental shelf up to 350 miles from shore. This is not only very feasible for Britain to achieve but makes applications from other countries completely void; however it could prove problematic with competing claims from Chile and Argentina which claims overlap that of Britain's.

If other nations feel it is appropriate to stage claims over the Antarctic lands then Britain should rightfully be up there as a contender as much as anyone else. At least with the current treaty in place countries are forced to apply and present their cases to the United Nations which can only be seen as a good thing. This makes the claims for land fair and unbiased and prevents countries from taking an inconsiderate approach to setting up mining operations in these delicate areas.

I believe if Britain does receive the permission to hold the land as their own every step and measure will be take to properly protect the ecosystems as much as possible and provide adequate research into the effects on wild life and the environment.

The days of land grabbing are over, and for the better we have become but through correct and unbiased application Britain should be awarded an answer of go-ahead' when it asks for access to the land it contributed to so much.

Thankyou

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