During the period of 1st to 10th June 2015, it took place in Sofia, Bulgaria the XXXVIII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the XVIII Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection.
The Agenda of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting has included: multi-year strategic work plan, operations and safety in Antarctica, tourism and non-governmental activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area, scientific cooperation and facilities, implications of climate change on the management of Antarctic areas, biological prospecting in Antarctica.
The Meeting Agenda of the Environment Protection Committee has included the following: strategic discussions on the future work plan of the CEP, mending environmental damage, implications of climate change on the environment: strategic approach, environmental impact assessment, environmental protection and managing protected areas, conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora.
Romania was represented by a delegation led by Tudor Prisăcaru Secretary of State – President National Authority for Scientific Research & Inovation (NASRI)* and was made up of: Dr. Manuela Sidoroff – General Manager of NIRDBS ** and Vicepresident of NCRA*** within Romanian Academy, and Dr. Mihaela Cotta – Research Associate of NCRA.
At the meetings, the delegation presented information regarding Romanian research in Antarctica for the period 2014-2015.
The Romanian delegation had meetings with representatives of the Republic of Korea, respectively the staff members of the Korean Institute for Polar Research (KOPRI). The purpose of the meetings was to analyze the developing course of the Framework Agreement between the Korean Polar Research Institute and the National Institute of Research – Development for Biological Sciences (NIRDBS) for a period of five (5) years. Furthermore, they have also carried out an analysis of the scientific expedition ROICE 2015. On this basis, there were established the terms and conditions for organizing the ROICE expedition in 2016.
In the same time, the Romanian delegation has met with the Australian delegation to identify the opportunities of signing a cooperation document between the Romanian and Australian Authorities for the use of the Antarctic Base, Law-Racoviţă-Negoiţă. There were talks organized with representatives of all parties (Australia, China, India and the Russian Federation) from the management group of the Protected Area with Special Management ASMA 6, Larsemann Hills, area where the Law-Racoviţă-Negoiţă base is situated, for reactivating Romania’s position in this group, including enabling it to conduct scientific expeditions in cooperation.