Antarctica Should Antarctica be protected from development?

Where in the world is it??? Polar Region Southern Hemisphere Approx. 4000km from Cape Horn, Argentina Approx. 5000km from Cape of Good Hope, South Africa Surrounded by Southern Ocean 14.2million km² South Pole Argentina Australia and New Zealand South Africa

How is it different to the Arctic? Location – South not North Wildlife – Penguins not Polar Bears and Caribou Inhabitants – no permanent inhabitants whereas Arctic has indigenous tribes Land – Antarctica is ice sheets resting on a huge continent whereas the Arctic is mainly ice sheets directly above the sea Antarctic Research Station Sami Traditional clothing

Why is Antarctica considered the last great Wilderness? The vast majority of the continent is uninhabitable and undeveloped This is because of extremely low temperatures all year round and extreme lack of vegetation due to thick ice sheets Very little life can be sustained in Antarctica, and the penguins which do live there usually stay relatively close to the coasts where they can hunt fish for food No land mammals live there natively “Moments later, Pingu would awaken to the painful truth”

Environmental Conditions Polar Region – very cold (as low as -50°C) Either light all day, or dark all day depending on the seasons Ice sheets up to 2km thick Nunataks on the Peninsula and Transantarctic Mountains 0.5% of Antarctica’s surface Southern Ocean partially frozen for most of the year, recedes in the summer Very little precipitation – average is 254mm per year.

Past and Present Exploitation Past Whaling – as many as 1.25 million, weighing approximately 64 million tonnes. Antarctica provided 50% all of whale catch by Fishing – large fishing fleets arrived in the 1960s, fisheries collapsed in 1970s as population of fish declined Present Some fishing still allowed, but this is mainly krill, and fisheries for scientific research 1991 protocol signed by 46 countries regards Antarctica as “a natural reserve devoted to peace and science” Exploitation of natural resources banned outright, until 2048 Japanese “scientific whaling” Tourism is permitted, however there are very strict rules on what tourist can do, for example, all litter dropping is strictly prohibited

Impacts of Exploitation Over fishing and extensive whaling upsets the eco- system, which can result in overpopulation of other organisms, for example whaling increases krill population. If mining were permitted then the waste and pollution produced from the processes would contaminate the land and spoil the wilderness. Despite measures to tackle litter, areas such as this must be cleaned up by government funded operations, for example, the Australian Antarctic Division

Political Neutrality Antarctica is not owned by one specific country, or a group of countries rather it is a shared land which any country can use for research, provided that it does not break international laws. Despite this, certain countries, including the UK, Australia, Argentina, Russia and Norway have claimed large areas of land for their own scientific research. This status is partly regulated by the countries of the UN, but the US is given responsibility of most internationally neutral areas (the Moon and outer space, for example)

Why are countries interested in Antarctica? Antarctica boasts some of the most extensive mineral wealth known on Earth. Any country which could be allowed to extract these minerals will surely have a massive economic asset, so countries are not willing to surrender the land they claimed in the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Additionally, Antarctica is a place where scientific experiments can take place in peace and controlled conditions. Furthermore, the wildlife and physical processes of Antarctica can be observed. Therefore, Antarctica is clearly an important scientific research area. One such scientific project is the IceCube project (pictured right) which intends to observe neutrinos (ghostly sub-atomic particles). Antarctica was the ideal place to locate this project as the Antarctic ice is very clear and very stable, and has relatively low background radiation levels. IceCube will be built here

Scientific research takes priority over mineral wealth Should Antarctica be Protected from Development? Mineral wealth should be used whenever possible YES NO We need to protect wildlife/ecosystems We need to protect out environment Tourism could become a major source of income for South American countries who can provide holidays to Antarctica