Global Governance + Global Systems (Case Study) Antarctica Flashcards
How large is Antarctica, and how much ice does it contain?
Covers an area of about 14 million km^2, larger than Europe. It contains 90% of all ice on Earth, and around 70% of all Earth’s freshwater.
What is the climate of Antarctica?
Very little available water, 166mm of precipitation each year and the average temperature is -49 Degrees Celsius. Antarctica’s plant life is mainly mosses and lichen and only two species of flowering plants grow.
What occurs at the Antarctic Convergence?
There’s upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water, microscopic phytoplankton thrive here, which provide plenty of food for krill and form basis of whole Southern Ocean food chain.
What threats is climate change bringing to Antarctica?
In the past five decades areas along the west coast of Antarctica have warmed by as much as 3 Degrees Celsius, one of the fastest temperature rises on Earth.
Krill population has declined by around 80% since the 1970s as sea ice has melted. Krill are the main food source for penguins, whales and seals.
Global sea levels have risen by about 3mm a year since the 1990s.
What problems are fishing and whaling causing in Antarctica?
Over-fishing threatens many species, in Antarctica the Patagonian toothfish is being fished unsustainably, making it vulnerable to extinction. Antarctic Krill are the most fished, in 2013, over 200,000 tonnes were fished.
Whaling was common in the mid-20th century but has declined since 1982 when regulations were brought in to ban all commercial whaling. Some countries continue to kill whales for ‘scientific’ purposes.
What threats are resource extraction bringing?
There are believed to be a lot of minerals in Antarctica, there are large underground deposits of coal and iron ore in the Transantarctic Mountains.
Mining is currently banned, but this may change in the future due to increasing demand for minerals and oil as supplies are depleted elsewhere.
What are the problems with tourism and research in the area?
Non-native species may be introduced for example on tourists’ clothing, these may alter food webs and ecosystems.
Antarctica is also important for scientific and environmental research. Until the 1980s a lot of the waste created in these bases was either burned, thrown into the sea or dumped.
What is the Antarctic Treaty?
Set up in 1959, it is an agreement about how to sustainably manage Antarctica’s ecosystem, signed by 53 countries.
Antarctica should only be used for peaceful reasons and countries should cooperate on scientific research.
What treaty was added to the Antarctic Treaty?
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1991. It focuses on protecting the fragile environment. It banned all mining and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for any new activities.
What are the problems with the Antarctic Treaty?
There is no system to ensure all countries abide by the rules. Also, the countries involved must reach a consensus over all decisions. Therefore, tackling problems can be slow and difficult, between 2012 and 2016 plans for Antarctic marine reserves repeatedly failed because of opposition from Russia and Ukraine.
What is the IWC?
The International Whaling Commission 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.
What are the criticisms of the IWC?
Campaigners have criticised the IWC for not properly monitoring the number of whales in the sanctuary.
What is the UNEP?
The United Nations Environment Programme is the main institution that governs the world’s environment and reports activity in Antarctica to the UN.
Who are the CCAMLR?
The programme in Antarctic is run by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources which aims to stop illegal fishing and conserve the Antarctic ecosystem.
How is the CCAMLR’s effectiveness limited?
By individual countries protecting their own interests, it took 5 years for the CCAMLR to negotiate the creation of a marine protected area in the Ross Sea, and it hasn’t reduced fishing quotas in the area.
