The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) celebrated the 35th anniversary. On this day the Antarctic Alliance (AOA) urged the Russian Federation to lead the international efforts on preservation of the Antarctic. This year a two-year period of Russia’s chairmanship of the CCAMLR begins, this fact causes hopes that Russia will be able to make a breakthrough in the three-year negotiations on the preservation of the unique marine ecosystems in the Ross Sea and the Eastern Antarctic resulting in the establishment of marine protected areas in these regions of the Southern Ocean. “Russian explorers discovered Antarctica nearly 200 years ago. Russia can rightly be proud of this discovery, but it also is responsible for this,” – Grigoriy Tsedulko, the representative of the Antarctic Alliance in Russia, says. “The chairmanship of the CCAMLR that coincided with the 35th anniversary of the Convention provides a unique opportunity for Russia to acquire advanced environmental positions and ensure the success of international efforts in the preservation of the Antarctic by reaching a consensus on the establishment of marine protected areas”.