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Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition Promotes a Greener IPY

Thursday, March 1, 2007
Posted in Environment | Tagged Environment

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) provides a unique opportunity to promote international collaboration, sharing of logistics and increasing environmental awareness in scientific research and, more broadly, in all Antarctic operations. The IPY is ambitious in scope and scale. According to analysis conducted by ASOC,1 at least 350 research activities with Antarctic or bipolar focus are planning to take place during the IPY period of March 2007-March 2008.2 Activity will intensify around existing centers of research, such as the Antarctic Peninsula and other research stations around the continent. Large-scale research campaigns will also take place in remote parts of the Antarctic wilderness which have been hitherto difficult to access. Some of these campaigns have been planned as the precursor of long-term research programs necessitating permanent research stations.

The IPY has made significant efforts in encouraging international collaboration, maximizing the effective use of logistics to conduct globally important research. Global climate change is the subject of many IPY projects, given the impacts that can already be seen globally as well as in the Antarctic region. Krill, the base of the marine ecosystem, is also an important focus of research. The IPY is offering unique transparency about the ensemble of research activities that will take place. In addition, all IPY projects in Antarctica should take place in full compliance of the requirements of the Protocol of Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.3 However, the cumulative impacts arising from 350 research activities and their corresponding logistical support over a concentrated period of two Antarctic summer seasons will not be negligible. In addition, the IPY is likely to increase the level of interest in Antarctica, which will generate more activities other than scientific research adding to the current trend of rapid growth and diversification of Antarctic tourism.

The most recent international polar research effort, the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, left a legacy of peace and international collaboration in the form of the Antarctic Treaty System, which now designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted for peace and science. Our vision is that the IPY 2007-2008 will be remembered for its positive environmental legacy, alongside its scientific advances. This includes minimizing the environmental impacts of human activities in Antarctica, raising environmental awareness among scientists, logisticians, tour operators and other visitors, and reaffirming the importance of the Antarctic wilderness.

The IPY can set forth a new environmental paradigm based on sharing facilities and logistics and a commitment to minimizing the human footprint.

To this end ASOC has initiated a project to evaluate the environmental impacts of the IPY and to increase the awareness of those working or visiting Antarctica. ASOC’s project has received endorsement from the IPY Joint Committee. In parallel, ASOC is working to promote greater and better compliance with the Antarctic Environmental Protocol, and is promoting the effective regulation of Antarctic tourism by Antarctic Treaty States.4

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1 The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is a global coalition of environmental Non Governmental organizations founded in 1978 to protect the Antarctic environment. See www.asoc.org.

2 Results of analysis published in: Tin, T., Roura, R. and Perrault, M. 2006. Enhancing the environmental legacy of the International Polar Year 2007-8. Eos Transactions AGU, 87(52), Abstract U21B-0813, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 11-15, 2006.

3 The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1998. It has been ratified by 32 states. The Protocol bans all aspects of mineral resource exploration and exploitation. It and the six Annexes negotiated thus far include provisions for Environmental Impact Assessments for most Antarctic activities, set standards for the prevention of pollution on land and sea, create a mechanism to set aside protected areas, and establish a Committee for Environmental Protection. The sixth Annex, on environmental liability and emergency response, was signed in 2005 but has not yet been ratified by all Parties and thus is not legally in force.

4 Antarctic tourism is growing rapidly - at approximately 15% a year for the past five years according to industry sources. It is also diversifying and expanding geographically. In the 2004-05 season 27,950 landed and cruise-only passengers entered the Antarctic Treaty Area. Adding staff and crew, takes the total to over 46,000 people. See IAATO’s 2004-2005 Tourism Summary, available at http://www.iaato.org/tourism_stats.html. In contrast, the peak population associated with National Program operators during 2005 was under 3500 people, and the winter population was just over 1000 people - see XXVIII ATCM/IP122, Appendix 2, COMNAP Report to ATCM XXVIII, submitted by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP), 2005. Approximately 40,000 shipborne tourists are expected this season. While the Protocol applies to Antarctic tourism, the industry is not yet the subject of specific, legally biding regulation under the Antarctic Treaty, but is largely selfregulated.

ASOC Secretariat - original press release:
http://www.asoc.org/Portals/0/pdfs/IPY_launch_press_release0228final.pdf