Year: 2026
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: For natural scientists, Antarctica is the largest open-air laboratory in the world. This chapter proposes that Antarctica should also be seen as a laboratory for territorial governance; a place where a group of states have peacefully exercised Joint Guardianship, focusing on the preservation rather than the exploitation of nature, and turning science into the main activity. It suggests that this model may serve as a blueprint for the governance of places like ecoregions, where cooperation is key for their successful protection. Yet, it also points to the ‘paradox of protection’: to successfully protect a place, action beyond it is as important as action in it. It further discusses the need to overcome methodological nationalism and methodological anthropocentrism in environmental governance in Antarctica and beyond, by incorporating non-state actors in the decision-making process and by giving political representation to nature. This chapter concludes with a summary of the chapters to come.
Source: Oxford University Press eBooks
Author: Alejandra Mancilla
Institution: University of Oxford
Language: English
Topic: Environmental law and policy
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus
OpenAlex ID: W7160923148