Antarctica is quite simply unlike anywhere else on Earth, a near
pristine environment of ice and snow. That it remains a true
wilderness is the result of the efforts of a great many people over
many years, a large proportion of whom have never, or will never,
set foot on the continent but hold dear the belief that this
essentially unspoiled region should not be lost.
Greenpeace's own history is closely tied to the history of
protection of Antarctica. It is now 20 years since four Greenpeace
volunteers became the first occupants of a small permanent base on
the shore of Ross Island. This was for the next four years to be at
the centre of Greenpeace's campaign, begun in earnest in 1985, to
establish the region as a World Park - an idea founded on the
principle that the continent is part of the global commons,
belonging to nobody. The objective of the campaign was to stop the
various countries that were staking a claim to the oil and mineral
deposits under the ice and rock.
Treaty talks
Having a presence on the continent gave Greenpeace a voice at
the Antarctica Treaty table where the continent's fate would
ultimately be decided. The Antarctica Treaty was signed in 1958 by
eighteen countries, seven of which claimed a territorial stake in
the region. The treaty recognised Antarctica as a unique scientific
and planetary resource for the whole of humankind and protected it
for 30 years. However by the early 1980s, knowledge of the extent
of Antarctica's mineral wealth was increasing, along with
technological advances that would enable its exploitation. To
environmentalists, it looked as if the signatories to the Antarctic
Treaty were all but lining up to start prospecting, and the
prospects of actually stopping them appeared slim.
The campaign had many strands, with the on-the-ice work helping
drive the political lobby work. Greenpeace's monitoring of the
environmental impacts of the various activities being carried out
by the countries which had bases in the region and the blocking of
the construction of a French airstrip, which involved the
dynamiting of a penguin nesting area and was in direct
contravention of the Treaty, helped garner support for the
campaign. This came from governments, other NGOs and from global
personalities including Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Jacques
Cousteau, and Ted Turner.
Annoyance to acceptance
In the seven years of the campaign Greenpeace went from being
perceived as almost a despised outsider in the affairs of the
Antarctica Treaty Nations to a respected player in negotiations for
the future of the continent. In 1989 the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill
in Alaska severely undermined the oil companies' argument that
drilling in ecologically sensitive areas could be conducted in a
safe, environmentally friendly manner. Gradually more and more of
the Treaty signatories were persuaded of the merits of making
Antarctica a World Park.
In 1991 the members of the Antarctic Treaty agreed to adopt a
new Environmental Protocol, known as the Madrid Protocol,
including an extraordinary 50-year minimum prohibition on all
mineral exploitation.
A milestone in the history of both the environment and
Greenpeace, it does not mean that the region is safe from human
interference - in particular Antarctica's unique marine ecosystems
are coming under increasing threat -- and not only from the
Japanese whaling fleet.
Arrrrr, toothfish, mateys
Pirate fishing for toothfish is an ongoing problem, depleting
fish stock after fish stock and causing major damage to albatross
and other seabird species which swoop down to feed on the bait as
the longlines are set, get hooked and drown. Last year the
estimated bycatch of seabirds by the pirate fishing fleet was 8,212
birds. After destroying the fish stock in one area these vessels
move on to another. Currently pirate fishing is concentrated
around the BANZARE Bank area and the damage they are doing is
likely only to be reversible in decades. As the pirate fleet
creeps round the continent it is getting ever closer to the Ross
Sea, an area considered one of the most pristine on earth and one
that has long been advocated as warranting complete protection.
Accidental tourists
Even non-extractive activities can put enormous pressures on the
fragile Antarctic ecology. Drawn both by the splendours of the ice
and by the extraordinary marine wildlife of the region - seabirds,
penguins, seals and whales, the numbers of tourists visiting
Antarctica are increasing year on year. The sinking of the cruise
vessel MV Explorer off King George Island, South Shetland Islands,
in November serves as a timely reminder of the risks that even this
activity poses to the marine environment. Many vessels are much
larger and carry large quantities of oil and it is entirely
possible that an accident of this kind could at some future date
lead to an environmental catastrophe and clearly shows why this
industry needs careful regulation.
License to krill?
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are among the most abundant
and successful animal species on the planet and are a keystone
species in the Antarctic food web with most of the larger Antarctic
animals, the seals, whales and seabirds as well as the less well
known fish and squid, depend directly or indirectly on them for
food. There is much to marvel at regarding krill biology and much
still to learn, especially the relative importance of their role in
carbon sequestration. It has been known for some time that
Antarctic krill feed on phytoplankton near the surface at night and
sink deeper in the water column during the day to avoid predators,
but recent research by some British scientists has revealed that
they also parachute down several times during the night. As a
consequence of this behaviour, the krill is likely to be
transporting more carbon from the surface layers to deeper waters
than previously thought. Lead author of the paper, Dr Geraint
Tarling from the British Antarctic Survey estimates the annual
sequestration of carbon by Antarctic krill may be the equivalent to
the emissions of 35 million cars. The growing interest in
harvesting of massive quantities of krill in the Southern Ocean
could therefore have major consequences not only for marine
predators but also for the climate.
Less ice, more oil
As oil prices rise and the world's fossil fuel addiction
continues, both the Arctic and the Antarctic seabeds are being
sized up for new territorial claims under the Law of the Sea
Convention. Last year, Russia placed a flag on the ocean floor
under the Arctic, putting down the first marker in what could be a
very messy undersea land-grab -- and a disastrous one for the
climate.
Some of the most drastic effects of climate change are currently
being experienced in the polar regions with ice-shelves melting and
glaciers shrinking in both the Arctic and Antarctica. This week
the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, and Rajenda
Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC will be visiting Antarctica to draw
attention to the scale of problem. Rapid melting at both poles
will not just affect the simple but vulnerable polar ecosystems but
affect the global climate and could lead to devastating sea-level
rise.
Marine reserves for healthy oceans
As the world changes and even greater pressures are placed on
Antarctica, more must be done to ensure it is properly protected.
Globally we should all be working to reduce the emissions of fossil
fuels and also supporting measures that will increase the
resilience of our ocean ecosystems to the impacts of climate
change. Greenpeace is campaigning for a global network of marine
reserves that would do just that -- put large ocean areas off
limits to fishing and other extractive activities such as oil
drilling. In our Roadmap to
Recovery we identified three huge areas around Antarctica which
should be included in any future network. However as principal
author, Professor Callum Roberts, writes there is a case for
extending such protection to all waters south of 60 degrees South
to safeguard one of the most pristine environments left on the
planet for the benefit of all humanity.
Take action: marine reserves now!
Sign our petition in support the Greenpeace plan to protect 40 percent of the world's oceans as no-take marine reserves.
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