Global Common- Antartica

Question 1

Antarctica location

Answer 1

. Average temp is -49 degrees
. Covers area of 14 million km^2
. 90% of all ice on earth

Question 2

There are four main threats to Antarctica

Answer 2

. Climate change
. Fishing and whaling
. Search for minerals
. Tourism and research

Question 3

Climate change (5)

Answer 3

. In the last 5 decades, areas along the west coast have warmed by 3 degrees ( fastest temperature on earth )

. Ice sheets melting: ice sheets retreating

. Climate acidification- carbon dioxide in air reacts with saltwater it creates carbonic acid, which depletes the amount of calcium carbonate in the water ( can be devastating to Antarctica’s plankton)

. Penguin are adapted to sea ice ( Adélie penguins ) have declined as the ice has melted

. Antarctic krill is dependent on the environment the sea ice provides. The krill population declined by around 80% since 1970s as the sea ice melted

Question 4

Fishing and whaling (4)

Answer 4

. Over fishing threatens many species- Patagonian tooth fish is being fished unsustainably, making it vulnerable to extinction

. In 2013, over 200,000 tones of krill were fished from Antarctica ( reduced fish and krill have a knock on effect on other species of the food chain )

. Whaling is common in the mid 20th century but declined in 1982 when regulations where put in place to ban commercial whaling ( some countries continue to kill whales for ‘scientific’ reasons)

. Whales are slow breeders so will take a long time for population to fully recover

Question 5

Search minerals

Answer 5

. Underground deposits of coal and iron ore
. Large reserves of oil underneath the southern ocean
. Mining is banned ( it’s too far to transport machinery to Antarctica from any other landmass

Question 6

Tourism and research

Answer 6

. Tourism increases shipping and air travel to Antarctica, leading to water and air pollution

. Tourists can disturb breeding colonies of birds ( litter and waste can harm wild life)

Question 7

International law

Answer 7

. The Antarctic treaty (1959) is an agreement about how to sustainably manage Antarctica’s ecosystems ( signed by 53 countries)

. The 1991 protocol banned all mining in Antarctica (however there is no system to ensure that countries will abide by the rules)

. The countries involved must reach consensus over all decisions regarding Antarctica ( e.g. between 2012 and 2016, plans For Antarctic marine reserves failed because of opposition of Russia and Ukraine)

Question 8

International whaling commission IWC- a global institution

Answer 8

. The IWC is responsible for regulating whaling and ensuring that the whale population is at a sustainable level

. In 1994 the IWC set up a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean in order to protect whales, however campaigners have criticised the IWC for not properly monitoring the number of whales in the sanctuary

Question 9

United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP)

Answer 9

. UNEP is a UN agency and is the main institution that governs the world environment ( responsible for reporting activity in Antarctica to the UN)

. The program is run by CCAMLR which aims to stop illegal fishing and conserve the ecosystem, however their effectiveness is limited by individual countries protecting their own interests- took 5 years to create the marine protected area in Ross sea and still hasn’t reduced fishing quotas in the area

Question 10

Whaling moratorium banned commercial whaling

Answer 10

. In 1982, the IWC introduced a whaling moratorium that banned all commercial whaling ( helped population of whales to increase)

. Non governmental organisations ( NGOs) including Greenpeace, have said that the whaling Moratorium is also poorly enforced ( countries like Japan continue to to kill large number of whales for ‘scientific research’ despite the ruling)

Question 11

NGO’s play and important role in monitoring threats to Antartica

Answer 11

. Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition ( ASOC) was formed in 1978 to protect the environment

. Do not have an interest in exploiting resources or fishing and will speak up against exploration

. The 1991 environment protocol was monitored to ensure the Southern Ocean sanctuary is protected from attempts to re-establish commercial whaling and that krill population is stable

. ASOC also monitors climate change by checking melting ice and sea levels around Antarctica ( they campaign with other NGO’s to reduce green house emissions)