Can the Important Bird Area approach improve the Antarctic Protected Area System?

Polar Record ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane W. Harris ◽  
Eric J. Woehler
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Site Identification ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Important Bird Area

The selection of sites that comprise the existing network of Antarctic protected areas has been largely ad hoc, driven by national interests rather than concerted efforts to ensure systematic and representative coverage of the Antarctic environment. Consequently there are gaps in coverage of all major ecosystems, in particular areas kept inviolate from human activity, inland lakes, and marine protected areas. Annex V of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty provides a list of values to be protected within a network of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), but provides no quantitative methods for site identification and prioritisation. The Antarctic Important Bird Area (IBA) Inventory is a joint initiative of BirdLife International and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Group of Experts on Birds (formerly the Bird Biology Subcommittee). The Antarctic IBA Inventory has identified 119 candidate IBAs, 97 of which are not currently protected as ASPAs. The IBA Inventory can improve the Antarctic Protected Area System (PAS) in that it provides a method by which to identify and prioritise sites for their potential inclusion in the Antarctic PAS.

Italian engagement in Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (161) ◽  
pp. 121-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Manzoni ◽  
M. Zucchelli
Keyword(s):  
Technical Research ◽  
Transport Aircraft ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Scientific Station ◽  
Logistic Support ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractFollowing Italy's accession to the Antarctic Treaty in 1981, the Italian Parliament made provision for a six-year programme of Antarctic research, to be administered by the Ministry for University and Scientific and Technical Research. The programme, Progetto Antartide, centres on a permanent scientific station at Gerlache Inlet, installed in 1986–87 for a staff of up to 60. Chartered ships, helicopters, snow vehicles and heavy transport aircraft provide logistic support for a substantial scientific and field programme, ranging widely from the base, the scope and extent of which is likely to increase.

scholarly journals Education and outreach by the Antarctic Treaty Parties, Observers and Experts under the framework of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings

Polar Record ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
José C. Xavier ◽  
Dragomir Mateev ◽  
Linda Capper ◽  
Annick Wilmotte ◽  
David W. H. Walton
Keyword(s):  
International Union ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Educational Value ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Education And Outreach ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThe development of formal discourse about education and outreach within the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), and the influence of major international activities in this field, are described. This study reflects on the ATCM Parties’ approach to implementing the ambition of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty Article 6.1.a, to promote the educational value of Antarctica and its environment, and examines the role of workshops and expert groups within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes. These early initiatives, which emerged in the 1990s, were a prelude to the development and implementation of a large number of International Polar Year (IPY) education and outreach programmes. The establishment of an Antarctic Treaty System Intersessional Contact Group, and an online forum on education and outreach during the 2015 ATCM in Bulgaria, is a legacy of IPY and is the next step in fostering collaboration to engage people around the world in the importance and relevance of Antarctica to our daily lives.

scholarly journals Management of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas: permitting, visitation and information exchange practices

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.R. Pertierra ◽  
K.A. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Full Disclosure ◽  
Environmental Management Practices ◽  
Previous Season ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Specially Protected Areas

AbstractAntarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) represent the highest level of area protection within the Antarctic Treaty area. To reduce environmental impacts, ASPA visitors must comply with the Area's management plan and receive an entry permit from an appropriate national authority. Parties to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty are obliged to exchange information on: i) the number of permits allocated for the forthcoming season, and ii) the number of visits to ASPAs during the previous season. We assessed the effectiveness of current permitting and information exchange practices by examining ASPA visitation data supplied to the Antarctic Treaty System's Electronic Information Exchange System during 2008/09–2010/11. We found that Parties have interpreted and implemented the protected area legislation inconsistently. Furthermore, some Parties did not fulfil their obligations under the Protocol by failing to provide full information on ASPA visitation. Estimations suggested that the level of ASPA visitation varied with ASPA location and the main value being protected. However, without full disclosure by Parties, ASPA visitation data is of limited use for informing general and ASPA-specific environmental management practices. Improved provision and formal interpretation of ASPA visitation data are recommended to enable more co-ordinated and effective management of activities within ASPAs.

Protected areas review: McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea

Polar Record ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (174) ◽  
pp. 189-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Process Management ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Field Information ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractAs a result of new provisions in the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty a number of countries are reviewing the management plans for protected areas in Antarctica. The United States and New Zealand have initiated a review of the 15 existing sites in the Ross Sea region, using an independent party, the International Centre for Antarctic Information and Research, to facilitate and coordinate the process. Management provisions are being revised to comply with the Protocol, and improved maps for the sites are being prepared using Geographical Information Systems. Visits in 1993/94 gathered field information, and thus far two sites have had new plans drafted: these are proceeding through the international review process. Input and comment is invited from interested parties with experience in these areas.

scholarly journals The SCAR Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica Scientific Research Programme

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S288) ◽  
pp. 275-295
Author(s):  
John W. V. Storey ◽  
Lyu Abe ◽  
Michael Andersen ◽  
Philip Anderson ◽  
Michael Burton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Related Field ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Astronomy And Astrophysics ◽  
New Facilities

AbstractSCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is, like the IAU, a committee of ICSU, the International Council for Science. For over 30 years, SCAR has provided scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System and made numerous recommendations on a variety of matters. In 2010, Astronomy and Astrophysics from Antarctica was recognized as one of SCAR's five Scientific Research Programs. Broadly stated, the objectives of Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica are to coordinate astronomical activities in Antarctica in a way that ensures the best possible outcomes from international investment in Antarctic astronomy, and maximizes the opportunities for productive interaction with other disciplines. There are four Working Groups, dealing with site testing, Arctic astronomy, science goals, and major new facilities. Membership of the Working Groups is open to any professional working in astronomy or a related field.

The Déjà vu System of International Trusteeship in Continental Antarctica: A Textual Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-131
Author(s):  
Xueping Li
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Intrinsic Values ◽  
Continental Antarctica ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Deja Vu ◽  
Déjà Vu ◽  
The Antarctic

In the name of environmental protection, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting seems to have borrowed the paradigm of international trusteeship of the United Nations for managing the Antarctic land-based protected areas. By comparing and analysing the critical questions highly concerned, this paper offers preliminary thoughts on the development and refinement of the conception of land-based protected areas as a déjà vu system of international trusteeship and its surrounding legal applications and implications in continental Antarctica, and challenges the direction followed by this system in protecting Antarctic intrinsic values in legal discourse.

scholarly journals Antarctic climate change and the environment: an update

Polar Record ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Turner ◽  
Nicholas E. Barrand ◽  
Thomas J. Bracegirdle ◽  
Peter Convey ◽  
Dominic A. Hodgson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Assessment Report ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Relevant Material

ABSTRACTWe present an update of the ‘key points’ from the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report that was published by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 2009. We summarise subsequent advances in knowledge concerning how the climates of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean have changed in the past, how they might change in the future, and examine the associated impacts on the marine and terrestrial biota. We also incorporate relevant material presented by SCAR to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and make use of emerging results that will form part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report.

The thermophilic bryoflora of Deception Island: unique plant communities as a criterion for designating an Antarctic Specially Protected Area

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.I. LEWIS SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
Geothermal Activity ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Stable Surfaces ◽  
Annual Summer

Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands is one of the most volcanically active sites south of 60°S. Between 1967 and 1970 three major eruptions devastated large expanses of the landscape and its vegetation. Since 1970 extensive recolonization has occurred on the more stable surfaces. Unheated ground supports several bryophyte and lichen communities typical of much of the Maritime Antarctic, but geothermal habitats possess remarkable associations of bryophytes, many of which are unknown or very rare elsewhere in the Antarctic. Nine geothermal sites and their vegetation are described. Communities associated with more transient sites have disappeared when the geothermal activity ceased. Mosses and liverworts occur to within a few centimetres of the vents where temperatures reach 90–95°C, while temperatures within adjacent moss turf can reach 35–50°C or more and remain consistently between 25 and 45°C. Most of the bryoflora has a Patagonian–Fuegian provenance. It is presumed that, unlike most species, the thermophiles are not pre-adapted to the Antarctic environment, being able to colonize only where the warm and humid conditions prevail. The floristic and ecological importance of these thermophilic communities, and their sensitivity to perturbation by the rapidly increasing annual summer influx of tourists, as well as scientists, has resulted in these unique sites being proposed as components of a new Antarctic Specially Protected Area under the Antarctic Treaty.

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