But less than 1,000 during the ever-dark winter.

但在永夜的冬季裡只有不到 1000 人居住

No one lives on the continent permanently.

沒有人永居在南極大陸上

So, who owns Antarctica?

所以，南極洲究竟歸誰所有？

Most stuff outside national borders: the sea floor, the moon, really all of space, is the Common Heritage of Mankind.

在國界之外的大多數事物：海底、月亮、整個太空空間都是人類的共同遺產

It belongs to none of us, and all of us, held in trust for future generations.

它既不專屬於我們任何一人，卻也屬於我們每一個人，並為我們的未來世代而託管保留下來

Which is nice, if perhaps a bit presumptive, to say that the entire Universe is ours.

這種概念很棒，但如果真要說整個宇宙都是我們的，似乎有點太自以為是了

And maybe someone will have something to say about that eventually.

這可能會讓不贊同這點的「某些人」最後前來向我們抱怨

Story for another time.

這又是另一個故事了

But still, well done humanity!

但無論如何，人類，幹得漂亮！

Except... it's never that simple.

但其實... 沒那麼簡單

Because the paperwork on Antarctica sort of says "Common Heritage of Mankind", but it doesn't go all in.

因為儘管南極的文書記錄上寫道：「人類的共同遺產」，但它並沒有包含全部區域

Here's why: explorers started landing in Antarctica in about the 1800's, planting flags and making claims.

原因是：探險者在大約 1800 年代時開始登陸上南極洲，插上旗子並主張土地的所有權

But these claims were a bit hollow, because, on the Civilization tech tree, Antarctica wasn't colonizable.

但這種主張略微空洞，因為在遊戲《文明帝國》的科技圖上， 南極是無法被殖民的

Nonetheless, like Monopoly, the optimal colonial strategy is "Claim everything you land on".

然而就像在玩《大富翁》一樣，最佳的殖民策略就是「腳踩上了就是我的」

In the early 1900's, the UK toyed with claiming "all" of Antarctica, before scaling back her ambitions to just the coastal parts she had explored to the South Pole.

在 1900 年代初期，英國曾試圖宣稱「整個」南極洲都是他們的，並在之後將野心縮小到該國探索過的海岸到南極點的部分地區。

France also claimed coastal explorations to the Pole, followed by Norway, followed by the Nazis.

法國也劃界了從沿海已探索部分到極點的區域，接著挪威和納粹政府也跟著如此劃界

Mid century, Argentina and Chile claimed slices overlapping with the UK, who they figured was rather too busy at the time to care, but later she and her now independent colonies totally did.

到了二十世紀中葉，阿根廷跟智利聲稱與英國範圍重疊的領土，只是英國在當時無暇關心，直到之後英國和他的獨立殖民地開始再次注意到南極洲為止

This left the Antarctica a mess of competing claims, at a bad time to have large territorial disputes.

這些讓南極洲有一段時間在領土權力的關係上非常混亂，而當時可說是對爭執領土爭議而言相當壞的時機點

Complicating things, the United States and the Soviet Union gave themselves the right to make a claim on Antarctica, not now, but maybe later.

讓事態更加複雜的是，美國和蘇俄給予了自己儘管並非立即適用，但能在未來宣稱南極洲土地的權利

Given this, quite remarkably, in 1959, the US, and USSR, and ten other countries, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and the UK, made a treaty to ease the tensions, saying that on Antarctica, there would be no military, no mining, and no nuclear exploding.

有鑑於此，1959 年美國和蘇俄兩國與阿根廷、澳大利雅、比利時、智利、法國、日本、紐西蘭、挪威、南美洲和英國共其他十個國家，難能可貴地共同制定了一個條約以緩和緊張的局勢。條約內容提到，在南極洲上將不會有戰爭、採礦和核武試爆。

The Antarctican paperwork is the first Cold War disarmament treaty, and set aside the continent for science and nature.

這份南極洲文件是第一份冷戰時期的解除武裝合約，並讓南極大陸僅能被利用在科學與自然方面的目的上

By the way, because it's a nature preserve, there's a rule about garbage, "Leave nothing behind".

順帶一提，由於南極洲是一個自然保護區，因此關於拋棄垃圾有個「不能留下任何東西」的規定

Nothing.

任何東西

Travel to Antarctica in the Summer, and you'll fly back with your poo in the Winter.

如果你在夏天去南極旅遊，在冬天飛離時你將必須帶走所有自己的便便

So, this looks pretty great, what's the problem with the line about common heritage?

總之，看起來挺好的。這樣的話那行關於「共同遺產」的條文究竟有什麼問題？

Well, no one actually gave up their claims on Antarctica, because the only way to get everyone to sign was to include this clause, which sidesteps the issue.

這個嘛，沒有人真正放棄他們在南極洲上所主張的領土權，因為讓每個國家都簽名的唯一方法是包含以下這項迴避了領土爭議問題的條款

Basically saying countries will act "as though" Antarctica is the Common Heritage of Mankind, and "as though" they have no claims, but they aren't legally "for realsies" giving up anything -which is why maps of Antarctica often include the current state of claim wedges.

該條文基本內容是說國家會以「如同」「南極洲是人類的共同遺產」的前提，以及「如同」「大家都沒有主張領土權」一般來行動， 但條約上並沒有在法律上「真正」要求各國放棄任何東西。這也就是為什麼南極洲地圖常常包括了目前各國主張領土的雛型

This blank spot, by the way, is nobody's, leaving it the largest territory unclaimed on earth by any nation, so far, anyway.

順帶一提，這塊空白的部分尚未歸屬於任何國家，也讓它成為了世界上尚未有國家宣示權利的最大面積土地，至少到目前為止還是如此

Now, unlike the colonial days, countries have the tech to build permanently staffed bases on Antarctica, and it just so happens that countries build their bases in their own claims, leaving no clear answer to this question.

現代與過去殖民時期不同，國家有著能夠在南極洲建立永久住人基地的技術， 而各個國家正好都在自己主張的領土範圍內建立自己的基地，使得關於領土權的問題還沒有明確的解答

According to the Treaty, Antarctica belongs to everyone, but the Treaty itself has an intentional hole.

根據條約，南極洲屬於每一個人，但條約本身卻有個刻意設計的漏洞

So Antarctica exists in this quantum state where the claims are real and unreal.

因此南極洲的領土權主張便處於某種似是而非的情況

Some countries build within their "borders", and some countries without claims, like China, build their bases on the continent wherever, because it belongs to everyone, right guys?

有些國家在他們的「邊界」範圍內設立基地，而有些沒有主張領土的國家，像是中國， 就在南極洲任意地點建立他們的基地， 畢竟南極洲是屬於大家的，對嗎各位？

These claims don't really matter, until they do in the 2040's, when the mining ban comes up for review.

這些主張目前並不是真的那麼重要，直到 2040 年代採礦禁令即將需要重新審閱的時候

Oh, and there's possibly a lot of oil in Antarctica, not to mention 70% of the earth's fresh water, which could be the more valuable resource in the future.

對了，南極洲底下可能蘊藏了大量的石油，更別提地球 70% 的淡水資源都在那裡， 而淡水可能會是未來最有價值的資源

The US and the Soviet... er... Russia, might just yet dust off those "One-free-claim-because-I-say-so" tickets.

美國和蘇聯... 呃俄羅斯，可能會開始考慮把他們塵封已久的「我說了算免費領土全兌換券」給拿出來

But for now Antarctica is ,as the Treaty intended, a continental nature reserve, and scientific research haven.

但至少目前為止，南極洲還是與制定條約時的預想所相符的一個大陸自然保護區和科學研究的天堂