Global Commons Antarctica Case Study Flashcards
What is a global common?
Refers to the Earth’s shared resources
Areas not owned by any one country or organisation - they belong to everybody.
Should be available for everybody’s use and benefit.
What are the 4 global commons?
High seas and deep oceans (areas of the sea that don’t belong to any country)
The atmosphere
The northern and southern polar regions – Antarctica, in particular
Outer space
What are the pressures on the global commons?
- ‘tragedy of the commons’.
- Industrialisation and development are increasing the demand for resources eg) oil many of these are extracted from the global commons.
Waste created that is pumped into the atmosphere eg) co2 or into the oceans (chemical waste) - New technology has made it easier to get to areas eg) high seas, Antarctica or outer space that were relatively inaccessible before – this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation.
Why do pressures on global commons cause problems for the planet as a whole?
The high seas – overfishing – affects the food chain and damage is caused to coral reefs.
Atmospheric pollution – causing climate change.
Increased c02 in the atmosphere also causes acidification of the oceans, which affects marine organisms, e.g. it’s harder for marine snails to form their shells.
Why is the global governance of the global commons needed?
Countries’ right to develop must be balanced by the need to protect
NGOs have called protection by making sure that any development and use of the areas is sustainable.
Sustainable development requires global cooperation.
Only truly universal and inclusive multilateral forum is the United Nations (UN).
- Frameworks for protecting the global commons that do exist have been described as “complex and fractured”.
- Large parts of the global commons are still without regional agreement and many of the older agreements don’t fully consider the environmental impacts of human activities on, e.g. ecosystems.
What is the tragedy of the commons?
Countries and organisations may feel they can exploit the global commons without dealing with the
consequences, as the costs of exploiting are shared by everybody
What is the background of Antarctica?
Most southern continent
Almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean
Estimated to be the 5th largest continent
Contains 90% of all ice on Earth, around 70% of the Earth’s fresh water.
It has no native (indigenous) population, but it has wildlife and minerals.
What is the climate of Antarctica?
Coldest, driest and windiest of all the Earth`s continents.
average temperature is -49oC
Varies across the continent
Most precipitation that falls is frozen.
Near the coast: precipitation 200 mm per year.
Interior gets only small amounts - a desert.
Gales and strong winds
What is the wildlife like in Antarctica?
low temps, little water and limited sunshine mean very few plants and
animals can survive in Antarctica.
The ones that can survive have to be specially adapted.
Only 2 species of flowering plants grow - lack of soil so lichens and mosses predominantly
Animal life is limited to minute insects and mites
supports a rich variety of marine birds e.g. penguins and seals.
lack of water, warmth and sunlight means terrestrial environment is fragile - Easy to disrupt any part of it
Environmental recovery is slow – eg) footprints on moss can remain for decades.
Fragile marine environment – if the population of one species decreases it affects the other species.
What is the Antarctic convergence?
Natural boundary in the Southern Ocean - a dividing line that loops all of the way around the Antarctic Continent.
Where cold north flowing waters separate from warmer waters of the subantarctic.
Where mixing and upwelling of water creates a highly productive marine environment for plant
life and animals e.g. krill.
What are the threats to Antarctica?
Climate change
Fishing and whaling
Search for minerals
Tourism
What is the climate change threat?
Antarctica facing loss of ice from ice sheets especially from Antarctic peninsula (AP)
AP is one of most rapidly warming places in the world.
Air temps have increased by 3° in last 50 years.
What is the impact of the climate change threat?
Global sea levels which have risen 3mm per year since 1990s could make edges of ice shelves unstable, increasing rate of melting.
Species of penguin (Adelie) adapted to sea ice have declined - chinstrap increased
Ocean acidification - c02 reacts with saltwater - forms carbonic acid and decreases calcium carbonate. Affects plankton which use this to form shells.
What is the fishing and whaling threat?
Whaling was common until the mid-20th Century. Significant population decline.
Fishing became the main economic use of the seas during 1960s and 70s
Over-exploited “tragedy of the commons”
Threatens species - Patagonian toothfish vulnerable to extinction.
Antarctic Krill are the most fished creature and in 2013 over 200 000 tonnes were fished. Knock-on effect on larger fish, marine mammals and birds.
Legal limits to fishing to keep stocks sustainable, but illegal fishing occurs
Albatrosses and petrels get caught in fishing lines and then drown
What are the successes and limitations to manage fishing and whaling?
1982 International Whaling Commission (IWC) brought in regulations to ban all commercial whaling.
Not followed by all countries e.g. Japan, Norway, Iceland.
In 1994 the IWC established the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, they banned all types of commercial whaling
Some continue to kill whales for ‘scientific purposes’
The whale population is now slowly recovering, but whales are slow breeders, so it will take a long time for stocks to be replenished.
Recently Japan has begun whaling again – this could be a future threat to Antarctica.
Japan resuming commercial whaling - extra
Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission, which it’s been a part of since 1951, to resume commercial whaling in 2019.
In 2023 it was reported that Japan is building a whaling ship that is designed to travel as far as Antarctica
Although this isn’t a threat to Antarctica now it shows that global governance isn’t straightforward – countries can withdraw from agreements.
What is the search for minerals threat?
Mineral deposits include coal, oil, gold.
Oil under southern ocean
Sizeable deposits that are easy to reach are rare and too expensive mine.
Mining is banned by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
Future resource demand will put pressure on these vast reserves
What is the tourism threat?
Advances in transport, technology and clothing make Antarctica more accessible.
Attractions: physical isolation, landscapes wildlife
Diversification of activities e.g. “adventure tourism”: mountaineering, diving, kayaking…
Research stations - British Antarctic Survey (BAS) welcomes some visits to some of its stations during the
summer.
Small scale tourism began in Antarctica in the 1950s - Not mass tourism but numbers have grown: 1980s over 2000 visitors per year, 2019/20 approximately 75,000 visitors.
Relatively small-scale so can be argued to be sustainable.
What are concerns to tourism?
Impacts fragile ecosystem
Disturbing wildlife breeding
Travel - water and air pollution
Disturbance can last decades
Boats grounding / hitting ice bergs
What are benefits of tourism?
Sound environmental records
Antarctic treaty system rules eg) one ship at a time landing, limiting number of tourists ashore and length of stay
Financially exclusive - visitors also tend to be responsible, well-educated and environmentally aware
What are some examples of NGOs that monitor threats and manage protection in Antarctica?
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Greenpeace
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
What are some examples of global institutions that monitor threats and manage protection in Antarctica?
Antarctic Treaty
International whaling commission
United Nations (UN)
What makes the role of NGOs important in Antarctica?
Monitoring possible threats and protect the environment.
Vital role in Antarctica as governments alone cannot help to monitor, understand or control every aspect of Antarctica.
Have little direct impact.
Provide expertise and provoke action.
Don’t act on behalf of country, so observe whether countries are sticking to the laws and call international attention to those who aren’t.
What is the role of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)?
In 1959, 12 nations, including USA and, as it was then, the USSR, signed this international agreement.
Today, 56 countries have signed it.
– in order to avoid disagreements and conflict, resolve disputes over ownership and mining rights, and to establish guidelines to limit development on the continent
What are the rules of the Antarctic Treaty?
Antarctica should only be used for peaceful reasons – no army bases or wepaons are allowed.
Countries should cooperate on scientific research – by sharing plans, researchers and results.
It should remain in the global commons - individual countries cannot make a claim to it.
What is the role of the Madrid protocol in Antarctica?
The Antarctic Treaty Nations agreed on this protocol in 1991, it came into force in 1998.
Purpose was to protect Antarctica for 50 years from commercial exploitation
(primarily of it’s mineral wealth).
Prohibits mining and mineral resource activities in the Antarctic Treaty area.
What are the successes of the Madrid Protocol?
Focuses on protecting Antarctica’s fragile environment.
Discharge from waste ships regulated
Waste from past activities removed
Some harmful materials completely banned.
Wildlife cannot be ‘taken’ or interfered with without a permit.
All activities require environmental impact assessments
No mining
What are the limitations of the Madrid protocol?
No system to ensure all countries abide by the rules.
If there are disputes, countries are encouraged to negotiate.
Countries must reach a consensus on all decisions - so tackling problems can be slow and difficult.
What is the role of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)?
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a UN agency and is the main institution that
governs the world’s environment.
Responsible for reporting activity in Antarctica to UN
The programme is run by the Commission for the conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. (CCAMLR).
What are the successes of the CCAMLR?
Aims to stop illegal fishing and conserve the Antarctic ecosystem eg) by setting up protected areas.
What are the limitations of the CCAMLR?
Effectiveness limited by individual counties protecting their own interests - took 5 years for CCAMLR to negotiate the creation of marine protected area in Ross sea and it hasn’t reduced fishing numbers in this area
What is the role of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)?
responsible for regulating whaling and ensuring that the whale population is at a sustainable level.
In 1994 it set up a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean to protect whales.
However, campaigners have criticised the IWC for not monitoring the number of whales properly in
this sanctuary.
When did the IWC introduce the whaling moratorium?
1982
What are the successes of the IWC whaling moratorium?
Banned all commercial whaling around the world, including in Antarctica.
It is believed to have helped whale populations in Antarctica to increase.
The success of the moratorium is monitored by estimating whale populations based on sightings and modelling.
What are the limitations of the IWC whaling moratorium?
Some countries e.g. USA and Australia, believe there should be a better monitoring system, including registering all whaling boats with the IWC and placing independent observers on all whaling boats.
Other countries, e.g. Japan and Norway, say the IWC does not have the authority to do this.
Campaigners have criticised the IWC for not monitoring the number of whales properly in this sanctuary.
NGOs e.g. Greenpeace, have said that the Whaling Moratorium is poorly enforced.
Countries like Japan have continued to kill large numbers of Antarctic whales for ‘scientific research’ despite the ruling.
What is the role of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) in Antarctica?
Formed in 1978 from a group of NGOs who were concerned that some countries were planning to make it legal to search for oil, gas and minerals in Antarctica.
What are the successes of ASOC?
Successfully campaigned to make Antarctic Treaty meetings more transparent, including allowing NGOs to attend.
Protects the environment.
Will speak up against exploitation by individual countries.
Monitors environmental changes and checks if countries are following the 1991 Environmental protocol.
Monitors the effects of climate change.
The work of the Antarctic Ocean alliance (AOA), a project of the ASOC - champions the case for dedicating marine protected areas and marine reserves in East Antarctica, the Ross Sea, the Weddell sea and the Antarctic peninsula.
How does global governance in Antarctica affect the world?
- Monitoring the melting ice in Antarctica has informed efforts to combat climate change.
This affects people’s daily lives – e.g. using renewable energy sources - Global governance may slow down short-term economic growth on some countries, e.g. limits on
how many whales and fish can be caught - limits the amount that countries can sell.
However, it secures resources for the future. - Global governance allows greater scientific exploration of Antarctica. People from all over the
world can conduct research in Antarctica. Collaboration allows researchers to share resources, e.g.
sharing research stations. - Global governance allows tourists to visit Antarctica safely and securely.
What are the limitations of global governance of Antarctica? (Analysis and assessment)
Decision making within the ATS can be problematic
e.g. one country, if it feels strongly about an issue, can stop a resolution from going forward
Without legal penalties for violating agreement, most parties are essentially on their honour to abide
by their obligations under the ATS, the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection or CCAMLR.
What are the successes of global governance of Antarctica? (Analysis and assessment)
over 50 years later, the Treaty has had no major problems.
Mutual trust clearly works in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, with the expertise, and prompting of NGOs, Antarctic agreements are moving forward in the protection of this global common.
ATS recognised as one of the most successful sets of international agreements, setting an example of peaceful cooperation for the rest of the world.
Examples of global organisations in Antarctica
ATS (Antarctic Treaty System), IWC (international whaling commission), UN environmental program ( commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources CCAMLR)
Examples of NGOS in Antarctica
ASOC (Antarctic and southern ocean coalition), Greenpeace, WWF, friends of earth.
Other operations
IAATO (international association of Antarctic tour operators)
What are the governmental organisations in Antarctica?
ATS
What is daisy?
A nerd
