Threats to Antarctica - notes PDF

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Threats to Antarctica Tourism and Scientific Research  Tourist numbers have grown from 9000 in 1992-93 to over 50,000 In 2012-13  All tour operators providing visits to Antarctica are members of the IATTO  Antarctica’s tourism is of three types: Camping trips for naturalists, ship-board visits, over-flights  There are 60 research stations with around 5000 scientists in summer Economic Effects Short Term

Long Term

 New jobs have been created – due to the improvements in transport it has been easier to access Antarctica and quicker, making it more appealing to work and visit Antarctica creating many new jobs

Environmental Effects Short Term  Oil Spills – The MV explorer sank near the South Shetland 178,000 litres of fuel and 24 tons of lube oil is still sitting at the bottom of the ocean and which will be gradually released into the marine environment. So far there has been no sign of pollution but the possibilities are still there.  Erosion or disturbance of fragile environments - many feet walking over the same piece of ground and routes will leave paths and other scars. 

Long Term  Impact on breeding birds - being made anxious by an influx of people that may cause them to abandon their nest or vacate an area all together if regularly disturbed. There are many records of birds that previously nested around Antarctic bases no longer doing so due to the constant activity around such places. The general voluntary code is that visitors should not go closer than 5m to any wildlife. This could mean that in the long term there is a decreased population of birds living there  Tourism can increase the numbers of alien species - which subsequent effects on native species and communities. The natural biodiversity could be lost and many species could be killed off.

Social Effects  Change in tourist type - what used to be Antarctic tourism in the late 1980s through the 1990s was generally people of middle age or older. They looked at wildlife, historic sites and maybe visited one current station - now people want to go kayaking, camping trips, seeing the penguins  Disturbance of workers – as workers and explores are spread out the continent, this means that there is a high chance of at least one station being interrupted by incoming tourists and vessels. This has negatively impacted the locals as their work is slowed down and progress on scientific research slows down too  However polar code which was put into action 1st January 2017 limits the size of ships coming into Antarctica therefore limiting the amount of tourists that visit.

Political Effects Short Term

Long Term

 Increase in territorial claims are there in Antarctica - due to the increased information on potential resources

 Exploration and exploitation of mineral reserves, oil and gas - Not currently economically viable, but as the need becomes greater and as technology advances, this will become an increasing threat. The Antarctic Treaty bans all mining and mineral exploitation indefinitely, though this comes up for review in 2048. These finding of new mineral could cause countries to leave the treaty for their own benefit and could lead to countries trying to claim parts of Antarctica or the fall of the treaty

Fishing and Whaling Overfishing Krill  Fishing for Krill began here in the 1970’s  Long-term monitoring by the BAS on south Georgia, found that when krill became less abundant, seals, penguins and albatrosses struggled to raise their young  Krill catches peaked more than 500,000 in 1981/92  The current Antarctic krill catch is 132,280 tons

Toothfish  Long-lining fishing began in mid 1980’s , which resulted in bycatch of bird species such as albatross which drowned when caught in lines  A single fish can get around $1000 in the US  Last years estimated illegal catch in surrounding waters was 12,125

 However lowered from 2010 where it was 210,000 tons but higher then 1992 where it was 100,000

tons

Evaluation  However all the fisheries are now regulated by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which came into existence in 1992  CCAMLR is in charge of designating and regulating which parts of the Southern Ocean can become part of proposed Marine Protection Areas (MPAs). A area where human activities are more strictly regulated than in surrounding waters Climate Change Environmental

Political

Economic

The Antarctic Peninsula  Sensitive to small rises in the annual average temperature  The area has experienced air temperature rises of 3 degrees, much faster rate than the average for global warming  The increase in temperature has led to: o Distribution of penguin colonies changing o Adelie penguins, a species well adapted to sea ice conditions, have declined in numbers in some areas, and replaced by open-water species such as the chinstrap penguin o Melting of snow and ice cover has increased colonization of plants o Decline in abundance of Antarctic Krill. Dropped by 80% since the 1970s o Glaciers and ice shelves around the peninsula have retreated – some have collapsed entirely o Ice shelves will break up and increase the flow rate of glaciers behind them – causing sea level rise o Climate is melting the polar ice caps, sea ice and land ice Sea Ice Expansion

 If climate continues at the rate – could lead to stricter and more environmental rules  Ice melt could make it easier to get to resources and could cause conflict between countries

 Reduction in fishing due to acidity  Reduction of tourism industry

 Temperature of Eastern Antarctica has risen by a much smaller amount  While the world is warming, sea ice is expanding on the eastern side of Antarctica  In 2013 sea ice was at an all time record extent of 20 million square km  It is formed when water is cooled sufficiently by the by the surrounding atmosphere  Reasons why climate may contribute to sea ice expansion o Increase westerly winds around the Southern Ocean o More rain and snow resulting from climate change – layering upon Southern Ocean with a cooler denser layer on top o These storms are also freshening the local water, thus raising the temperature needed for sea ice to form o Increased melting of continental land ice creates more floating ice bergs which contribute to sea ice formation Ocean Acidification  Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels and other emissions  This creates carbonic acid, which makes the slightly alkaline oceans less alkaline  Polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems will have a loss of organisms and will disrupt food web

Search for Mineral Resources  There has never been any commercial mining in Antarctica as mining is banned by the Antarctic Treaty  There are no current or known future plans by any of the Antarctic Treaty nations to reserve this decision  However, the future demand for resources will put pressure on the vast reserves on the continent  The issue of minerals was so difficult and complex that they created they were going to adopt the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA)

 CRAMA sought to regulate mineral prospecting, exploration and development activities, although mining would only be permitted if all parties agreed that there was no risk to the environment  However WWF and green peace were very against this and meant Australia and France did not sign, therefore causing the collapse of CRAMA.  The convention was signed by 19 states, but no states have ratified it. Therefore, the convention has not entered into force and has been replaced by the 1998 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

The Protection of Antarctica Resilience – the degree to which a population or environment can absorb an event of significant change and yet remain within the same state of organisation, i.e. its ability to cope with stress and recover Mitigation – any actions, strategies, measures or projects undertaken to offset known detrimental impacts of a process Adaption – any alteration of adjustment in the structure of function of an organism or system which enables it to survive better in changing environmental conditions Organisation Purpose Scope [players involved/time] System for inspection and enforcement Your critical evaluation of its effectiveness Antarctic Treaty  Protection of the  Environmental  52 signatories and 28 of  Article 7 – Treaty-state System Antarctic monitoring in whom are ‘Consultative observers have free (including the environment Antarctica has led to Parties’ access, including aerial Antarctic  Conservation of plants the detection of the  Review conference every observation, to any area Treaty 1959 and animals seasonal reduction 30 years – next 2048 and may inspect all and the wider  Preservation of historic of atmospheric stations, installations and ATS system) sites ozone over the equipment; advance  Designation of Antarctic, or in notice of all activities and management of simple terms, the of the introduction of protected areas hole in the ozone military personnel must  Management of layer be given tourism  The conditions set out  Used for peaceful in the treaty have purposes only been upheld  Prohibits nuclear test considerably well by all parties involved and disposal of radioactive waste  Set aside disputes over territorial

sovereignty The Protocol on Environment al Projection (1991 Madrid Protocol)

The International Whaling Moratorium

 Extra protection to the environment of Antarctica, especially against mineral resource activities  Designates Antarctica as a ‘natural reserve’ devoted to peace and science  Elaborates on rues relating to liability for any environmental damage  Requires that waste of all kinds be returned to country of origin wherever possible

 Ratified by all members of the ATS and all 197 UN member states  Any modifications to the mining prohibition are unlikely until 2048, and only then if 75% of the current consultative parties agree

 Inspection and observation of all operations in Antarctica is compulsory  Prosecutions against treaty rules are the responsibility of individual nation states through the ATCM  Environmental audits are now carried out around bases on land and in the sea to assess the impacts that the bases are having on the surrounding areas  The scope of inspection includes stations, ships, aircraft and loading areas  Any new activities are subject toenvironmental impact assessments

 Main sectors using the chemicals have stopped  Provided a stable framework to plan long-term research and innovation  Chemical companies have kept innovating, producing chemical with no ozone depleting potential with a lower global warming potential as well  Multilateral fund has provided funding for developing countries to help them meet their targets  The ozone layer is expected to return to 1980 levels between 2045-2060

 Pause in commercial whaling on all stocks from the 1985-86 season onwards

 Does not affect aboriginal subsistence whaling carried out by indigenous cultures in Alaska, Greenland and parts of Canada

 Only Norway and Iceland take whales commercially – but only the North Atlantic common minke and not from the Southern Ocean

 Blue whales decreased from 250,000 to 2,300  USSR falsifying numbers and species were being



 Japan is the only country that continues to evade the moratorium with a ‘special permit’ allowing them to take in whales  Binding to all members of the IWC except Russia registered an objection to it, though it does not exercise this objection

 Poorly police forced

caught on a massive scale and being sold to Japan  Not obligatory – 5 abstentions

ASOC 1. What is ASOC’s mission and vision?

1. To protect the Antarctic and Southern Ocean’s unique and vulnerable ecosystems by providing the unified voice of the NGO community

2. What are ASOC’s two major campaigns?  Creation of a network of large Marine Protected Areas (carried out in cooperation with the Antarctic Ocean Alliance), and negotiation of a legally binding Polar Code that covers all vessels operating in the Southern Ocean.  ASOC monitors all issues that impact the Antarctic, including climate change, tourism, fisheries management, biological prospecting and pirate fishing.  Present campaigns include negotiation of a legally-binding Polar Code regulating all vessels operating in the Antarctic; establishing a representative network of marine reserves by 2012, including Marine Protected Area status for the Ross Sea; managing Southern Ocean Fisheries sustainably, including krill - the base of the Antarctic food web; regulating Antarctic tourism and biological prospecting; strengthening the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; and monitoring implementation of the Environment Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty.

3. What does ASOC do in terms of Antarctic Environmental Protection?  They monitor activities to ensure that they are carried out in a way that preserves and protects the Antarctic environment.  The Russian plan to drill into the subglacial Lake Vostok is a good example. Scientists are understandably intrigued by subglacial lakes and any life forms that may be able to survive in them.  Nevertheless, these environments are vulnerable to contamination and disturbance, having been locked away under ice for thousands of years.  Thus we have been urging Russia to abide by international scientific guidelines for the exploration of subglacial lakes.

 More generally, ASOC presents a strong voice for enhancing current rules and regulations for Antarctica, enacting new rules when appropriate and developing ways to enforce current and future rules.

4. What are MPAs and who is responsible for establishing them?  A marine protected area is a region of the ocean in which human activities are more strictly regulated than in the surrounding waters, similar to a national park on land.  MPAs are designated and managed through legal means with the goals of achieving long- term conservation of habitat, providing refuges for different species, and even provide safe havens for cultural and historical sites.  MPAs protect biodiversity and buffer habitats from the impacts of human activities and allow impacted areas the time to recover.

 The Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is in charge of designating and regulating which parts of the Southern Ocean can become part of the network of MPAs.  CCAMLR is part of the Antarctic Treaty System and began working towards conserving the ocean surrounding Antarctica in the early 80s.  They have also declared eleven priority areas in the Southern Ocean from which most of the MPAs will be designated.

5. How does ASOC participate in governance of Antarctica?

 ASOC participates as an NGO observer at important meetings related to Antarctic governance.  Thus though we cannot participate in decision-making, we can represent the positions of the NGO community that is active on Antarctic issues.  Over the years, ASOC’s involvement has proven critical in motivating governments to pursue strong conservation agendas. IAATO  Boats are limited to 500 passengers which should reduce the impact of tourism  500 tourists per ship  Only 100 tourists on land at a time for 2-3 hours  5m away from wildilife

Ev:  Guidelines are widely accepted  Damage to vegetation happens due to seals etc  No litter is attributed to tourists – mostly from scientific research stations  Out of 200 landing sites only 5% showed wear and tear...