Year 8 Report : ‘Evaluate to what extent the use of Antarctica by people is sustainable’
Antarctica, the southernmost continent and site of the South Pole is an ice-covered landmass which is virtually uninhabited. It’s also the fifth largest continent which covers around 14 million square kilometres. Special features of Antarctica include it being the world’s driest,windiest,coldest and iciest continent. The average annual temperatures range from around -10 degrees celsius to -60 degrees celsius. The most abundant and best known species of animal found in Antarctica consists of penguins, seals, whales and in the nutrient-rich waters you can find thousands of tiny plankton and krill. Flora of Antarctica includes around 250 lichens, 100 mosses, 700 algae species and other types of fungi.
In this report, I will be looking at the sustainability of Antarctica regarding the four key areas in which Antarctica is used for, tourism, fishing, mining and scientific research. It will help us to reach for a conclusion to show whether Antarctica is used sustainably or not.
There is nowhere else like Antarctica. Drawn to its spectacular scenery and long list of iconic species, more and more tourists are choosing to visit this harsh yet pristine and beautiful wilderness. Evidence shows there being an exponential growth in the number of tourists with a 50% rise over the past four years of tourists in Antarctica.
As we can see in this graph the tourist number is increasing. From 1992 to 1999, the number of tourists has fluctuated. From 2002–3 onwards there is an exponential growth from around 17,000 shipborne tourists to 35,000 in 2006–7. A total increase of a colossal 18,000 shipborne tourists.
There are numerous ways in which Antarctica is being harmed by tourism. One of the ways is the oil spills and sewage from boats and ships. Cruise ships have struck icebergs causing oil spills which damage the environment and poison wildlife/aquatic species. This is recorded to have happened in 2007 causing innumerable problems. Also, sewage from large ships ( millions of tonnes per week of sewage gets dumped into the ocean )pollutes the water and harms marine life which eventually links to famine for many aquatic species. For example, if krill perish of water pollution it will also link to the food web meaning that whales might not have food which is the krill and may also perish. If it continues, in extreme cases it may cause extinction of particular species and damage the whole ecosystem. Another disadvantage is when crowds of people cause breeding animals to become stressed, this causes the animals to abandon their young. People can also bring Invasive Alien species with them unknowingly. The Invasive Alien species can harm other species through competition and cause major problems. One last disadvantage of tourism is that too many vehicles and people trodding on ice can leave dents and cause erosion.
As well as disadvantages, tourism can also bring advantages. There is a type of tourism called ecotourism which helps Antarctica become a greener environment. Tourists are intended to support conservation efforts and operate low-impact facilities. This can help protect Antarctica and be a type of sustainable tourism. Another advantage that tourism may bring is money. This money is good for the economic industry and a small percentage of money may also go to help protect and save Antarctica. One last advantage that tourism can bring is helping scientists. Tourism can help scientists to discover more information about the wildlife and habitats.
In conclusion, I believe that tourism is not sustainable and there should be no tourists in Antarctica. This is our last great wilderness so it should be kept safe so animals can stay there peacefully.
The Southern Ocean which surrounds Antarctica is rich in marine life. Fish species of interest to the fishing industry include Antarctic Krill and Toothfish. Due to its harsh and dangerous conditions of the Southern Ocean, fishing in Antarctica is expensive. Krill has always been a species of interest because of its high biomass. The current krill catch is just over 4 million tonnes per year. However, this increased interest comes to a point where the krill population appears to be in a long-term decline. This poses a disastrous impact on the whole ecosystem and the food web especially for large predators like whales, seals, penguins,albatrosses and petrels. As well as this problem, fishing gear can be another problem, it causes destruction of underwater habitats. One last concern is the ‘bi-catch’ which results in catching other species alongside the targeted species.
From 1977 to 1981 there has been a huge exponential growth.The initial requirement to regulate the krill fishery by 1973 became less urgent due to a slow down in the catch of krill from the early 1980’s. Catches of 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes a year through the 1980’s dropped to less than 100,000 tonnes by 1993 . In recent years, the trend has been upwards again as new markets have been found for krill products and new technologies have been used to fish for the krill.
One of the ways that fishing is more sustainable is because of the conservation groups which set bans and regulations to the amount of fish caught. For example, the CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) set limits on the number of fish caught for fisheries so that catches would leave enough of that species of fish and also leave enough for predators such as whales. The total allowable catch currently is around 5.6 million tonnes annually. One other way to make fishing sustainable is to use different methods of fishing like spear fishing or eating fish that are low on the food chain.
Overall, I believe that fishing in Antarctica is sustainable and fish would not disappear at this rate. Instead it could solve hunger issues.
Currently, there is no mining in Antarctica because the Antarctic Treaty prohibited mining. However, if you were to mine there would be bad consequences. Antarctica’s weather, ice and distance from any industrial areas means that mining would be extremely dangerous. Drilling/mining would also be difficult because of the vast quantities of moving ice and glaciers, it may even result in collapsing the Western Antarctic ice sheet which would lead to huge rises in sea levels worldwide. On the advantage point of view, there are immense numbers of natural resources such as coal, iron, gas and oil which would be very valuable to the mining industry.
Overall, I think that mining is not sustainable as it causes many disasters and problems and there are not many advantages either.
Scientific research is one of the ways we can learn and discover more about Antarctica, there could be a wealth of information stored there. It could also help our understanding of global issues we face now like climate change. The downside to scientific research is when scientists need accommodation and other related facilities like roads, fuel storage, runways and disposals of waste frequently. This causes construction to happen and it harms Antarctica.
I think that if the number of scientists are kept to a manageable level it would be sustainable.
In conclusion, I believe that Antarctica is not used sustainably. This is because tourism, fishing and scientific research are all increasing which would mean more damage to Antarctica. Although mining does not take place in Antarctica currently because the Antarctic Treaty has banned mining, in the future these regulations may change and they may allow mining. Also, more and more countries are demanding to get territorial claims in Antarctica and this would lead to even more researches and more harm. Another point is that the IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) have set guidelines which are :
- Protect Wildlife
- Be safe
- Keep Antarctica Pristine
- Respect Scientific Research
- Respect Protected Areas
However these guidelines are not always followed. We also face problems like climate change. Ice in Antarctica is melting fast, it is thought that Antarctica has lost more than 3 trillion tonnes of ice in the last 25 years. We also have more problems like the ozone layer which already has a hole. Antarctica is already harmed so we should keep and protect it from being harmed even more before it is too late…
