Data and code for Carter et al. "The limits of Antarctic conservation governance"

The Antarctic region exerts a profound influence on the Earth system, making its conservation fundamental to sustaining planetary health and human wellbeing. The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) holds near-exclusive authority for environmental protection across the region, yet questions remain regarding its capacity to address a growing range of conservation threats. We analysed more than 90,000 scientific and policy documents (1961–2023) to examine how conservation threats progress through the ATS's decision-making processes. We find that the more locally a threat originates, the clearer the evidence that it progresses through the ATS's decision-making system. Threats originating within the Antarctic Treaty Area show repeated progression towards governance action, whereas external threats, including climate change, remain under prolonged deliberation or receive limited engagement. These patterns suggest that the ATS can address conservation threats within its remit but has yet to translate sustained engagement with external threats into comparable governance action. This distinction is increasingly consequential because some of Antarctica's greatest threats now originate outside the region. Strengthening coordination between the ATS and broader global governance frameworks may therefore be critical to addressing them.