Australian Antarctic Division Senior Environmental Policy Adviser, Ewan McIvor, was elected Chair of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Brazil in May.
The Committee advises the ATCM on all environmental issues in Antarctica, with a current focus on preventing the introduction of non-native species, developing the Antarctic protected areas system, addressing the environmental implications of climate change, and managing how tourism interacts with the environment. There are 35 member nations on the CEP, as well as a number of non-governmental organisations with environmental, scientific and technical expertise on Antarctic matters.
‘The CEP operates on consensus, so my role as Chair will be to facilitate the free-flow and effective exchange of views, and to identify where there is general agreement on how to advance the Members’ shared environmental objectives,’ Mr McIvor said.
Mr McIvor has worked in a range of environmental management and policy roles with the Australian Antarctic Division for more than 14 years. He has been a member of the Australian delegation to the ATCM for a decade and has been Australia’s representative to the CEP since 2007.