Digital Crosstalk

Calls to curb Antarctic Tourism

Posted by Brian | Filed under tourism

Antarctica – one of the world’s great wildernesses – has come under increased threat of human and environmental disasters due to the burgeoning number of tourists who visit the frozen continent.

Antarctica has become something a magnet to tourists in recent times, lured by the opportunity to experience earth’s last great wilderness; its pristine environment and unpredictable – and extreme – weather conditions.

However, these and other factors such as its vast areas between habitation and expansive uncharted waters pose extreme problems and danger for rescuers in the event of any emergency as well as vessels which attempt any journey around the continent’s land and surrounding sea.

That, however, didn’t stop some 45000 tourists from visiting the area on cargo vessels designed to carry fuel, oil, chemicals and refuse; their presence in the area can contribute to polluting the region. In the past, most shipping in the region had been limited to scientific vessels carrying researchers or supplies.

Existing tourism rules bar tourists or tour operators from leaving anything behind — like garbage or human waste — and regulate tourists’ conduct to protect animals’ breeding grounds in the region.

Now countries that manage the continent are seeking controls on ships visiting Antarctica in order to try to curb the potential human and environmental dangers, and have called for regulation. Few of the ships which traverse the region have strong enough hulls to withstand ice or crews experienced in navigating around icebergs thus putting both cargo and lives at risk.

“Without regulations, we are going to have a disaster where a lot of lives are lost and where oil spills out into the environment, and we see penguins being smothered and poisoned by fuel oil in their rookeries,” said Trevor Hughes, the head of Antarctic policy at New Zealand’s foreign ministry.

New Zealand is one of the dozen founding members of the Antarctic Treaty, along with the United States, Russia, Britain and others, and is among those leading the push for shipping regulation.

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