Environmental
Issues
The Antarctic is a region
of vast untracked wilderness, fascinating natural features, and
incomparable scenic beauty. However, despite its remoteness and
limited exposure to the modern world, it is still not immune to
human impacts.
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Mineral
Exploitation
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Iron ore, coal,and other minerals have
been found in the Antarctic, but their quantities are unknown.
The highly uneconomical nature of mining
there, effectively prevents exploitation.
Although it is theorized that oil and
natural gas exist beneath the continental shelf, no commercial-size
deposits have ever been found.
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Even in Antarctica, environmental
folly has played its part. Modern technology has brought with it:
waste, tourism, overfishing, habitat destruction, and the potential
for resource exploitation. What's more, global environmental concerns
such as: global warming, ozone destruction, air and water pollution,
and nuclear fallout all affect the southern continent to one degree
or another.
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Even in Antarctica, pollutants can be
found in snow and ice cores.
Nuclear fallout shows up clearly in the
ice cores, and is linked to datable events.
There is, however, no evidence of sulfur
dioxide, which, as 'acid rain,' has caused so much damage
in the Northern Hemisphere.
The continent provides scientists with
a global baseline against which we can measure the damage
inflicted on the rest of the planet.
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Since the time of the
early explorers, the wealth of Antarctica's resources, especially
its marine resources, have not escaped the notice of extractive
industries. Fur seals were slaughtered by the tens of thousands
during the 1820's driving populations to the brink of extinction.
Then came the whalers, who for a period of about twenty years in
the early 1900's, processed more than 40,000 whales per year reducing
populations to a fraction of their former abundance. Next, in the
1970's, came the exploitation of fish. Years of overzealous harvesting
of cod species resulted in the closure of most fisheries until sustainable
recovery--still a long way off--can occur.
There is little doubt
that a great deal of Antarctic science and research has global significance.
 Most
humans in Antarctica are involved in some type of scientific undertaking,
either research or related to logistical operations. In the past,
some scientific bases have been criticized for their lack of environmental
awareness. However, during the last decade, attitudes have changed
dramatically. Scientists recognize the value of a clean Antarctica
and are taking steps to avoid contaminating it.
Today, the Antarctic
Treaty and its accompanying amendments, do an admirable job
of protecting the continent's environmental riches. The 1991 "Protocol
on Environmental Protection" requires that comprehensive assessment
and monitoring tools are used to minimize human impacts on fragile
ecosystems.
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Amendments
to the Antarctic Treaty
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Agreed Measures for the Conservation
of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964) - protects native
animals and birds and sets aside Specially Protected Areas.
Convention for the Conservation of
Antarctic Seals (1978) - provides a means to regulate
commercial sealing activities.
Convention on the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980) - ensures that
the Southern Ocean's living resources are treated as a single
ecosystem.
to study the unique characteristics of
Antarctica and its surrounding seas.
Protocol on Enviromental Protection
(1991) - establishes environmental principles for the conduct
of all activities in Antarctica.
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