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Ricardo Roura

University of Groningen, Arctic Centre, Alumnus

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Roser Puig Marcó

University of Barcelona

The Australian National University

Anna Jakubska-Busse

University of Wroclaw

The University of New South Wales

Gregoris Iatrou

University of Patras

Christa Torrens

Daniela Liggett

University of Canterbury/Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

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Papers by Ricardo Roura

Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity

PLOS Biology, 2023

AU : Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly: Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity... more AU : Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly: Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity faces multiple threats, from invasive species to climate change. Yet no large-scale assessments of threat management strategies exist. Applying a structured participatory approach, we demonstrate that existing conservation efforts are insufficient in a changing world, estimating that 65% (at best 37%, at worst 97%) of native terrestrial taxa and land-associated seabirds are likely to decline by 2100 under current trajectories. Emperor penguins are identified as the most vulnerable taxon, followed by other seabirds and dry soil nematodes. We find that implementing 10 key threat management strategies in parallel, at an estimated present-day equivalent annual cost of US$23 million,

Spatial protection tools as indicators of the ‘health’ of the Antarctic Treaty system

The Geographical Journal

Tourism and heritage in Antarctica: exploring cultural, natural and subliminal experiences

Polar Geography

ABSTRACT The guidelines on heritage management adopted by the 2018 Antarctic Treaty Consultative ... more ABSTRACT The guidelines on heritage management adopted by the 2018 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting provide the most recent iteration for an Antarctic tourism sector which had, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, been projected to increase further with various risks and potential impacts requiring careful management. In this paper the role of cultural heritage for tourism prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is examined through three empirical perspectives. First, how the Antarctic cultural heritage is represented through the designation of Historic Sites and Monuments and Site Guidelines for Visitors; then how this is presented through tourism operators’ websites; and, finally, how it is experienced by visitors as narrated in open-source social media information. Each dataset suggests that, while cultural heritage is an important component of an increasingly commodified tourist offering, it is only part of an assemblage of elements which combine to create a subliminal and largely intangible Antarctic experience. In particular, a polarization of the heritage experience between cultural and natural does not appear productive. The paper proposes a more nuanced understanding of heritage tourism in Antarctica which accommodates the notion of a hybrid experience that integrates cultural heritage, the history and stories this heritage represents, and the natural environmental setting.

The XXXVII meeting of the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources

The Polar Journal, 2019

The shore is the limit: marine spatial protection in Antarctica under Annex V of the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty

The Polar Journal, 2018

This paper examines the role of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty ... more This paper examines the role of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in relation to marine spatial protection, with a focus on the designation of marine or partially marine areas as Antarctic Specially Protected or Managed Areas (ASPAs and ASMAs). For an improved understanding of this ASPA and ASMA practice, the competence arrangements between the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are also examined. Five categories of ASPAs and ASMAs are identified according to their location and values relative to marine environments and ecosystems. A series of maps illustrate the outcomes of this inventory. The analysis and maps show that the use of ASPAs and ASMAs in marine or partially marine areas has been limited, although such protection is clearly within the mandate and competence of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. In part to explain these outcomes, the paper examines some recent ATCM discussions on marine protection issues. It is concluded that stronger spatial marine protection through ASPAs and ASMAs, as well as a strengthened integrated protection of the marine environment, requires stronger collaboration between the ATCM and CCAMLR, as well as mutual respect between these bodies.

The XXXVI meeting of the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources

The Polar Journal, 2018

El debate sobre áreas marinas protegidas en la Antártida: ¿conservación o pesca?

Ecologia Politica, 2013

Supervision of Antarctic Shipborne Tourism: A Pending Issue?

SpringerBriefs in Geography, 2016

This chapter focuses on the ways Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, and the tourism industry superv... more This chapter focuses on the ways Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, and the tourism industry supervise the implementation of applicable regulation for Antarctic shipborne tourism. Tourism regulation is adopted in the framework of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, as well as the external provisions from other international fora and by industry self-regulation. Based on a description of the existing regulation and provisions in place, this chapter discusses the way supervision of Antarctic tourist operations have been debated, conducted and reported by both Treaty Parties and the industry. The article concludes by discussing likely mechanisms to enhance supervision of the management of shipborne tourist activities in Antarctica, and proposing further lines of research on this issue.

La nuova scoperta dell’Antartide

Steps in a long journey : community projects and sustainable development in west Kwaio and central Kwara'ae, Malaita, Solomon Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North...

The Polar Cultural Heritage as a Tourism Attraction

Tourisme polaire, 2009

This paper explores the use of narratives in the transformation of historic sites in the polar re... more This paper explores the use of narratives in the transformation of historic sites in the polar regions into attractions and consumable tourism products. The analysis is based on a case study of visitation to the airship mooring mast built at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, for the 1926 “Amundsen-Ellsworth-Nobile Transpolar Flight” of the airship Norge. The questions addressed in this paper are: How does cultural heritage in the polar regions operate as a tourist attraction? What is the role of tourism narratives in creating a tourism attraction? Direct observations constituted the main research method. Based on Dean MacCannell (1976) and Neil Leiper (1990), a tourism attraction is a system comprising a tourist or human element; a nucleus or central element; and a marker or informative element. Tourism narratives enable the different elements of the tourism attraction system to “click” together into a coherent whole. Through narratives, the mast becomes a place of significance and a symbolic m...

Enhancing the Environmental Legacy of the International Polar Year 2007- 2008

The International Geophysical Year (IGY) left a legacy of peace and international cooperation in ... more The International Geophysical Year (IGY) left a legacy of peace and international cooperation in the form of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Since the IGY, the 1991 Protocol of Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed and entered into force. The Protocol establishes that the protection of the environment and the wilderness values of Antarctica "shall be fundamental considerations in

Strategic Thinking and the Antarctic Wilderness: Contrasting Alternative Futures

Antarctic Futures, 2013

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty outlines a vision for the Antarc... more The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty outlines a vision for the Antarctic wilderness, and together with its six annexes, forms a framework that can readily serve as a basis for strategic thinking for environmental protection. Baumgartner and Korhonen (2010) defined the notion of ‘strategic thinking’ as characterised by three interrelated and distinct dimensions: strategy process, strategy content and strategy context. We use this framework to examine how strategic thinking is applied to protect the Antarctic wilderness. Since the Protocol came into force in 1998, the Committee for Environmental Protection and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings have adopted various ad hoc forms of strategic processes and have had varying amounts of strategic content in their discussions and decisions. Despite the protected status of the Antarctic Treaty area and the consideration of environmental issues in deliberations by Antarctic Treaty states, the strategic context of the region results in intense local, regional and global development pressures. Environmental protection may feature in a ‘Business-As-Usual’ future for the Antarctic, but on the margins rather than as a central guiding principle, risking a ‘paper park’ future. Environmental groups have called for a future Antarctica that includes the elements of wilderness, strategic thinking, international cooperation and stabilisation of the human footprint. We contend that Antarctic Treaty parties, encouraged by environmental groups and other actors, should ensure that implementing the objective and environmental principles of the Protocol becomes both a reality for the present and also a strategic vision for the longer term.

Being there: examining the behaviour of Antarctic tourists through their blogs

Polar Research, 2012

Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing... more

Monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon contamination at the former site of Greenpeaces World Park Base, Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica

Polar Record, 2004

This paper describes the results of a program for the monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon c... more This paper describes the results of a program for the monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon contamination at the former Greenpeace base site, located at Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica (77°38′S, 166°24′E). World Park Base operated year-round between 1987 and 1991. It was entirely removed in 1991–92. Increased levels of hydrocarbons occurred in sediments nearby the base. The total volume of fuel spilt during Greenpeace operations, estimated at less than 200 L, was less than what would now require reporting according to existing guidelines for national programs. Some fuel spills might have predated Greenpeace activities. Hydrocarbon contamination was highly localised and largely contained in the active layer. However, in one site hydrocarbons were detected to a depth of 70 cm into the permafrost. Low impact, low technology remedial action applied at some sites removed a significant percentage of fuel in the active layer, thus reducing the potential for secondary effects. The f...

Monitoring the transformation of historic features in Antarctica and Svalbard: local processes and regional contexts

Polar Record, 2009

ABSTRACTHistorical sites in Antarctica and Svalbard contain the material remains of past activiti... more ABSTRACTHistorical sites in Antarctica and Svalbard contain the material remains of past activities of exploration and exploitation of these regions. These sites have been subject to transformation by cultural and non-cultural (natural) processes since their abandonment to the present. For research and management purposes it is important to monitor and explain these changes. This article focuses on the transformation of historic features in Antarctica and Svalbard as assessed through repeat photography. Seven historical features were selected representing a range of site types and past and present site functions. Data collection was based on the opportunistic reproduction of photographs of historic features taken up to 20+ years previously. Data analysis was performed using the concepts of site formation processes developed by M.B. Schiffer (1983, 1987). Time-serial changes were observed in the seven photo-couples examined in the present instance. No feature degraded significantly d...

Organochlorine pesticides in the atmosphere of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, January–March, 1990

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 1993

Chlorinated pesticides in air were measured from the Greenpeace ship Gondwana between New Zealand... more Chlorinated pesticides in air were measured from the Greenpeace ship Gondwana between New Zealand and Ross Island, January-March, 1990. Geometric mean concentrations (pg m-3) were: ¢t and y-hexachlorocyclohexanes = 4.0 and 3.8, hexachiorobenzene-60, heptachlor epoxide = 0.52, chlordanes+nonachlors-1.8, p,p'-DDE+ p,p'-DDT-0.81. A trend of decreasing pesticide concentration at higher latitudes was noted. The low levels of DDTs found in this study and also by Larsson et aL (1992) during 1988-90 on Ross Island indicates that atmospheric DDT over the Southern Ocean has dropped markedly in the last decade. Recent concentrations of DDTs in Antarctic air are similar to those in the Arctic.

B Enchmarks for e Nvironmental M Anagement

Realising Strategic Environmental Assessment in Antarctica

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 2011

This paper discusses high-level environmental policy objectives under the Antarctic Treaty System... more This paper discusses high-level environmental policy objectives under the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), and their relation to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). It reviews the need for SEA in Antarctica; discusses existing ATS strategic processes and the impediments to achieving the high-level environmental policy objectives agreed within the ATS, and suggests ways to improve strategic consideration of environmental issues. Whilst the concept of a strategic approach is already accepted in principle within the ATS, there remain difficulties in realising this. These include, inter alia, limitations in the established processes addressing environmental issues (particularly cumulative impacts), and ongoing tensions between the nominally agreed international objectives and national interests (including issues around unresolved territorial sovereignty claims) in practice. The article contends that given growing pressures on the Antarctic environment, high-level environmental polic...

A square peg in a round hole: fitting impact assessment under the Antarctic Environmental Protocol to Antarctic tourism

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 2003

The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty develops and codifies Antar... more The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty develops and codifies Antarctic environmental impact assessment (EIA) obligations. This paper outlines the history and present nature of Antarctic EIA obligations and reviews the emergence of Antarctic tourism. The Treaty explicitly recognises the primacy of Antarctica's scientific and environmental values, whereas tourism, while a legitimate activity, is not otherwise an embedded Antarctic activity. The difficulties of applying an EIA system which has evolved primarily to deal with national programme activities to the different activities of commercial tourism is not an argument for absolving tourist activities from these obligations. If tourism activities are not adequately addressed, the impacts may not be appropriately considered and could pose unacceptable risks to an environment supposedly legally safeguarded by international treaty.

Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity

PLOS Biology, 2023

AU : Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly: Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity... more AU : Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly: Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity faces multiple threats, from invasive species to climate change. Yet no large-scale assessments of threat management strategies exist. Applying a structured participatory approach, we demonstrate that existing conservation efforts are insufficient in a changing world, estimating that 65% (at best 37%, at worst 97%) of native terrestrial taxa and land-associated seabirds are likely to decline by 2100 under current trajectories. Emperor penguins are identified as the most vulnerable taxon, followed by other seabirds and dry soil nematodes. We find that implementing 10 key threat management strategies in parallel, at an estimated present-day equivalent annual cost of US$23 million,

Spatial protection tools as indicators of the ‘health’ of the Antarctic Treaty system

The Geographical Journal

Tourism and heritage in Antarctica: exploring cultural, natural and subliminal experiences

Polar Geography

ABSTRACT The guidelines on heritage management adopted by the 2018 Antarctic Treaty Consultative ... more ABSTRACT The guidelines on heritage management adopted by the 2018 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting provide the most recent iteration for an Antarctic tourism sector which had, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, been projected to increase further with various risks and potential impacts requiring careful management. In this paper the role of cultural heritage for tourism prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is examined through three empirical perspectives. First, how the Antarctic cultural heritage is represented through the designation of Historic Sites and Monuments and Site Guidelines for Visitors; then how this is presented through tourism operators’ websites; and, finally, how it is experienced by visitors as narrated in open-source social media information. Each dataset suggests that, while cultural heritage is an important component of an increasingly commodified tourist offering, it is only part of an assemblage of elements which combine to create a subliminal and largely intangible Antarctic experience. In particular, a polarization of the heritage experience between cultural and natural does not appear productive. The paper proposes a more nuanced understanding of heritage tourism in Antarctica which accommodates the notion of a hybrid experience that integrates cultural heritage, the history and stories this heritage represents, and the natural environmental setting.

The XXXVII meeting of the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources

The Polar Journal, 2019

The shore is the limit: marine spatial protection in Antarctica under Annex V of the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty

The Polar Journal, 2018

This paper examines the role of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty ... more This paper examines the role of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in relation to marine spatial protection, with a focus on the designation of marine or partially marine areas as Antarctic Specially Protected or Managed Areas (ASPAs and ASMAs). For an improved understanding of this ASPA and ASMA practice, the competence arrangements between the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are also examined. Five categories of ASPAs and ASMAs are identified according to their location and values relative to marine environments and ecosystems. A series of maps illustrate the outcomes of this inventory. The analysis and maps show that the use of ASPAs and ASMAs in marine or partially marine areas has been limited, although such protection is clearly within the mandate and competence of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. In part to explain these outcomes, the paper examines some recent ATCM discussions on marine protection issues. It is concluded that stronger spatial marine protection through ASPAs and ASMAs, as well as a strengthened integrated protection of the marine environment, requires stronger collaboration between the ATCM and CCAMLR, as well as mutual respect between these bodies.

The XXXVI meeting of the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources

The Polar Journal, 2018

El debate sobre áreas marinas protegidas en la Antártida: ¿conservación o pesca?

Ecologia Politica, 2013

Supervision of Antarctic Shipborne Tourism: A Pending Issue?

SpringerBriefs in Geography, 2016

This chapter focuses on the ways Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, and the tourism industry superv... more This chapter focuses on the ways Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, and the tourism industry supervise the implementation of applicable regulation for Antarctic shipborne tourism. Tourism regulation is adopted in the framework of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, as well as the external provisions from other international fora and by industry self-regulation. Based on a description of the existing regulation and provisions in place, this chapter discusses the way supervision of Antarctic tourist operations have been debated, conducted and reported by both Treaty Parties and the industry. The article concludes by discussing likely mechanisms to enhance supervision of the management of shipborne tourist activities in Antarctica, and proposing further lines of research on this issue.

La nuova scoperta dell’Antartide

Steps in a long journey : community projects and sustainable development in west Kwaio and central Kwara'ae, Malaita, Solomon Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North...

The Polar Cultural Heritage as a Tourism Attraction

Tourisme polaire, 2009

This paper explores the use of narratives in the transformation of historic sites in the polar re... more This paper explores the use of narratives in the transformation of historic sites in the polar regions into attractions and consumable tourism products. The analysis is based on a case study of visitation to the airship mooring mast built at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, for the 1926 “Amundsen-Ellsworth-Nobile Transpolar Flight” of the airship Norge. The questions addressed in this paper are: How does cultural heritage in the polar regions operate as a tourist attraction? What is the role of tourism narratives in creating a tourism attraction? Direct observations constituted the main research method. Based on Dean MacCannell (1976) and Neil Leiper (1990), a tourism attraction is a system comprising a tourist or human element; a nucleus or central element; and a marker or informative element. Tourism narratives enable the different elements of the tourism attraction system to “click” together into a coherent whole. Through narratives, the mast becomes a place of significance and a symbolic m...

Enhancing the Environmental Legacy of the International Polar Year 2007- 2008

The International Geophysical Year (IGY) left a legacy of peace and international cooperation in ... more The International Geophysical Year (IGY) left a legacy of peace and international cooperation in the form of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Since the IGY, the 1991 Protocol of Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed and entered into force. The Protocol establishes that the protection of the environment and the wilderness values of Antarctica "shall be fundamental considerations in

Strategic Thinking and the Antarctic Wilderness: Contrasting Alternative Futures

Antarctic Futures, 2013

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty outlines a vision for the Antarc... more The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty outlines a vision for the Antarctic wilderness, and together with its six annexes, forms a framework that can readily serve as a basis for strategic thinking for environmental protection. Baumgartner and Korhonen (2010) defined the notion of ‘strategic thinking’ as characterised by three interrelated and distinct dimensions: strategy process, strategy content and strategy context. We use this framework to examine how strategic thinking is applied to protect the Antarctic wilderness. Since the Protocol came into force in 1998, the Committee for Environmental Protection and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings have adopted various ad hoc forms of strategic processes and have had varying amounts of strategic content in their discussions and decisions. Despite the protected status of the Antarctic Treaty area and the consideration of environmental issues in deliberations by Antarctic Treaty states, the strategic context of the region results in intense local, regional and global development pressures. Environmental protection may feature in a ‘Business-As-Usual’ future for the Antarctic, but on the margins rather than as a central guiding principle, risking a ‘paper park’ future. Environmental groups have called for a future Antarctica that includes the elements of wilderness, strategic thinking, international cooperation and stabilisation of the human footprint. We contend that Antarctic Treaty parties, encouraged by environmental groups and other actors, should ensure that implementing the objective and environmental principles of the Protocol becomes both a reality for the present and also a strategic vision for the longer term.

Being there: examining the behaviour of Antarctic tourists through their blogs

Polar Research, 2012

Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing... more

Monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon contamination at the former site of Greenpeaces World Park Base, Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica

Polar Record, 2004

This paper describes the results of a program for the monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon c... more This paper describes the results of a program for the monitoring and remediation of hydrocarbon contamination at the former Greenpeace base site, located at Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica (77°38′S, 166°24′E). World Park Base operated year-round between 1987 and 1991. It was entirely removed in 1991–92. Increased levels of hydrocarbons occurred in sediments nearby the base. The total volume of fuel spilt during Greenpeace operations, estimated at less than 200 L, was less than what would now require reporting according to existing guidelines for national programs. Some fuel spills might have predated Greenpeace activities. Hydrocarbon contamination was highly localised and largely contained in the active layer. However, in one site hydrocarbons were detected to a depth of 70 cm into the permafrost. Low impact, low technology remedial action applied at some sites removed a significant percentage of fuel in the active layer, thus reducing the potential for secondary effects. The f...

Monitoring the transformation of historic features in Antarctica and Svalbard: local processes and regional contexts

Polar Record, 2009

ABSTRACTHistorical sites in Antarctica and Svalbard contain the material remains of past activiti... more ABSTRACTHistorical sites in Antarctica and Svalbard contain the material remains of past activities of exploration and exploitation of these regions. These sites have been subject to transformation by cultural and non-cultural (natural) processes since their abandonment to the present. For research and management purposes it is important to monitor and explain these changes. This article focuses on the transformation of historic features in Antarctica and Svalbard as assessed through repeat photography. Seven historical features were selected representing a range of site types and past and present site functions. Data collection was based on the opportunistic reproduction of photographs of historic features taken up to 20+ years previously. Data analysis was performed using the concepts of site formation processes developed by M.B. Schiffer (1983, 1987). Time-serial changes were observed in the seven photo-couples examined in the present instance. No feature degraded significantly d...

Organochlorine pesticides in the atmosphere of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, January–March, 1990

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 1993

Chlorinated pesticides in air were measured from the Greenpeace ship Gondwana between New Zealand... more Chlorinated pesticides in air were measured from the Greenpeace ship Gondwana between New Zealand and Ross Island, January-March, 1990. Geometric mean concentrations (pg m-3) were: ¢t and y-hexachlorocyclohexanes = 4.0 and 3.8, hexachiorobenzene-60, heptachlor epoxide = 0.52, chlordanes+nonachlors-1.8, p,p'-DDE+ p,p'-DDT-0.81. A trend of decreasing pesticide concentration at higher latitudes was noted. The low levels of DDTs found in this study and also by Larsson et aL (1992) during 1988-90 on Ross Island indicates that atmospheric DDT over the Southern Ocean has dropped markedly in the last decade. Recent concentrations of DDTs in Antarctic air are similar to those in the Arctic.

B Enchmarks for e Nvironmental M Anagement

Realising Strategic Environmental Assessment in Antarctica

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 2011

This paper discusses high-level environmental policy objectives under the Antarctic Treaty System... more This paper discusses high-level environmental policy objectives under the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), and their relation to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). It reviews the need for SEA in Antarctica; discusses existing ATS strategic processes and the impediments to achieving the high-level environmental policy objectives agreed within the ATS, and suggests ways to improve strategic consideration of environmental issues. Whilst the concept of a strategic approach is already accepted in principle within the ATS, there remain difficulties in realising this. These include, inter alia, limitations in the established processes addressing environmental issues (particularly cumulative impacts), and ongoing tensions between the nominally agreed international objectives and national interests (including issues around unresolved territorial sovereignty claims) in practice. The article contends that given growing pressures on the Antarctic environment, high-level environmental polic...

A square peg in a round hole: fitting impact assessment under the Antarctic Environmental Protocol to Antarctic tourism

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 2003

The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty develops and codifies Antar... more The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty develops and codifies Antarctic environmental impact assessment (EIA) obligations. This paper outlines the history and present nature of Antarctic EIA obligations and reviews the emergence of Antarctic tourism. The Treaty explicitly recognises the primacy of Antarctica's scientific and environmental values, whereas tourism, while a legitimate activity, is not otherwise an embedded Antarctic activity. The difficulties of applying an EIA system which has evolved primarily to deal with national programme activities to the different activities of commercial tourism is not an argument for absolving tourist activities from these obligations. If tourism activities are not adequately addressed, the impacts may not be appropriately considered and could pose unacceptable risks to an environment supposedly legally safeguarded by international treaty.