CHAPTER 2 — THE 21st CENTURY STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT The Fernando de Noronha, São Pedro and São Paulo archipelagos and the Trindade Island, which are far from the coast, are also used as reference points for the Blue Amazon. The referred region extends to 200 nautical miles, measured from its baseline. In the São Pedro and São Paulo archipelagos, located 520 nautical miles from the coast of Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil maintains a scientific research station, with support from the Navy. The station is permanently supplied and inhabited by Brazilian researchers and is considered to be a prerequisite for the archipelagos to contribute to the composition of the Blue Amazon. The growing international interest in Antarctica, reinforced by claims of sovereignty by some countries, motivated the Washington Conference of 1959. This forum discussed the future of Antarctica and a legal framework for the solution of emerging deadlocks. A significant part of the Brazilian coast is reached by the winds of the Antarctic region and the sea currents bring living resources, nourishment and oxygen to Brazil’s seashore, elements which directly influence the country’s southern coast. A great part of the available fishing in the Brazilian sea is influenced by the water mass originating in the Southern ocean. Thus, due to the unparalleled interest the region has for the country, the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR) was approved in January 1982. In that same year, Brazil acquired the oceanographic support vessel “Barão de Teffé” for the Navy and commissioned it to carry out a hydrographic, oceanographic, and meteorological study in Antarctica, as well as to choose a site for a Brazilian research station. This initiative resulted in the international acknowledgement of the country’s presence in that territory, which resulted in the acceptance of Brazil as a consultative member in the Antarctic Treaty16 in 1983. The international framework for outer space is of great importance to the country. Its main instrument is the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), created in 1958, soon after the launching of the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik-1. The UN General Assembly then formed an ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, composed of 24 member states, including Brazil. Currently, the Committee has 71 member states. The COPUOS supervises the implementation of five treaties and agreements regarding the use of space. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington D.C. on December 1st, 1959, by countries which claimed possessions in parts of the Antarctic continent. Signatory states committed themselves to suspend their claims for an undefined period, and thereby allowed scientific exploration to be conducted freely in the continent under a system of international cooperation. The Treaty came into force in June 1961. Brazil adhered to the Treaty on May 16, 1975. Adhesion to the Treaty was reiterated by Decree No 75.963 of July11, 1975. 16 48 DEFENSE WHITE PAPER