§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the proposals for 26 new conservation areas in the Antarctic by the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research, a copy of which has been sent to him.
§ Mr. RentonWe are aware of this initiative but have not yet received the Scientific Committee's detailed proposals. While we accept the general principle behind them, we shall need to study the proposed management plans for each conservation site before deciding whether to support them. Eight of the sites proposed by the committee lie outside the Antarctic treaty area and are the concern of the French authorities.