Why do Tourists Visit Antarctica? There is no doubt Antarctica is an incredible tourist destination. It is a magnificent and largely uninhabited wilderness with majestic mountains, glaciers, icebergs and abundant wildlife. Its remoteness, inaccessibility and severe climate add an element of adventure to a visit to Antarctica.

What Impact Can Tourists Have on the Environment? Human impacts include: harvesting some Antarctic species to the verge of extinction for economic benefit, killing and disturbing other species, contaminating the soils discharging sewage to the sea and leaving rubbish, cairns and tracks in even the most remote parts

The depletion of native species continues

The Mink Whale This majestic creature, beautiful in its natural habitat, is still being hunted by the Japanese.

The Pantagonian Toothfish This particular species is being overfished which has led to the severe depletion of it’s population.

Environmental impacts in Antarctica occur at a range of spatial scales. At the largest scale are the effects in Antarctica of planet-wide impacts such as global warming, ozone depletion and global contamination caused by the application of technology elsewhere in the world. More localised, but still with the potential to cause region-wide effects, are the impacts of fishing and hunting. Mining has been prohibited under the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty (known as the Madrid Protocol). More localised still are the impacts of visitors, such as scientists or tourists, to the region.

Australian environmental initiatives

At the headquarters of the AAD at Kingston, the Territories, Environment and Treaties Section and the Operations Environment Officer are responsible for ensuring that all activities are planned carefully to avoid environmental harm and to develop policies that minimise unavoidable detrimental effects on the natural environment. The Human Impacts Research Program undertakes research to ensure that environmental management decisions are based on the best scientific information. The Antarctic Marine Living Resources Research Program provides information that will be of use in managing the harvesting of species in the Southern Oceans.

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