Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs – Yayasan Penyelidikan Antartika Sultan Mizan

Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs

Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) is the international association, formed in 1988, which brings together its Members, who are the National Antarctic Programs. National Antarctic Programs are those organizations that have responsibility for delivering and supporting scientific research in the Antarctic Treaty Area on behalf of their respective governments and in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty.

COMNAP’s purpose which can be found in its Constitution is to “develop and promote best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica”. It does this by:

Serving as a forum to develop practices that improve effectiveness of activities in an environmentally responsible manner;
Facilitating and promoting international partnerships;
Providing opportunities and systems for information exchange; and
Providing the Antarctic Treaty System with objective and practical, technical and non-political advice drawn from the National Antarctic Programs’ pool of expertise.

COMNAP’s Members are the government National Antarctic Programs of 30 countries that are Consultative State Parties, or are non-Consultative State Parties and their countries have agreed to the Antarctic Treaty and the Environmental Protocol. There are also six Observer National Antarctic Programs.

Since Malaysia has acceded to Antarctic Treaty and ratified Madrid Protocol, Malaysia represented by Yayasan Penyelidikan Antartika Sultan Mizan has been granted Observer status by COMNAP in 2017.

Each Member program is represented by the Manager of that National Antarctic Program and/or the Deputy Manager of that program. National Antarctic Programs collectively have the greatest first-hand experience of living and working in the Antarctic. Many of the National Antarctic Programs have operated in the Antarctic since the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957/58.

The details of Antarctic facilities operated by those COMNAP Member National Antarctic Programs can be downloaded via https://www.comnap.aq/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/COMNAP_Antarctic_Station_Catalogue.pdf