Are tourists in Antarctica making global warming worse?

The boom in the tourism industry to Antarctica is endangering the snow-covered landmass, according to Dutch researcher Machiel Lamers, who is concerned that no country in particular is taking responsibility for the welfare of the Antarctic - not to mention the global climate consequences.

For his research, Lamers consulted scientists, policy makers, tour operators and environmental groups in order to establish a picture of the problem at hand. Currently, there is no specific policy in place to set out the limits for tourism on the continent; meanwhile, more than 40,000 tourists are visiting Antarctica during the winter months, producing huge amounts of carbon dioxide emissions in the process. Another concern is the safety of tourists, who can often be caught off guard when the Antarctic weather turns, especially since there are few established rescue services on the continent.

Lamers believes that the countries who form the international consortium involved in managing Antarctica should move swiftly to develop a long-term plan of action. At the moment, the tour operators who function within Antarctica are self-regulatory, but Lamers believes that it may be necessary for the decisions on tourism issues surrounding Antarctica to be decided by someone other than the tour operators.

The research was funded by the NWO and was part of the Netherlands Polar Programme, a project aimed at encouraging scientific research in the polar regions.

For more information on the research, contact Kim van den Wijngaard at nwo_nieuws@nwo.nl

Published: Monday, 21st December 2009 by Tom Freeman

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