scholarly journals Polar Ecotoxicology – a missing link

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN J. RIDDLE ◽  
PETER M. CHAPMAN
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Polar Species ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

There is a pressing need for region-specific information on the response of polar species to contaminants. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty states “…regular and effective monitoring shall take place to allow assessment of the impacts of ongoing activities, including the verification of predicted impact…”. Although the Treaty only applies to the Antarctic, similar requirements exist for the Arctic; thus, our comments below apply to both polar regions. Without ecotoxicological information all the effort that is directed towards contaminants monitoring is largely meaningless as it does not tell us whether the levels detected pose an environmental risk.

Australian and Canadian initiatives in polar marine environmental protection: a comparative review

Polar Record ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 34 (191) ◽  
pp. 305-316
Author(s):  
Donald R. Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Marine Environmental Protection ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Marine Environmental

AbstractIncreasing attention has been given to the protection of the polar marine environment throughout the 1990s. In the case of the Antarctic Treaty System, in addition to a number of recommendations and measures adopted at Antarctic Treaty Meetings, the 1991 Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty contains a number of measures that will enhance marine environmental protection in the Southern Ocean. In the case of the Arctic, the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy identified marine pollution as being one of the major environmental issues in the Arctic, and a number of initiatives have since been developed to encourage the Arctic states to deal with the problem collectively and individually. However, while the collective responses of the polar states have been helpful in giving prominence to the importance of marine environmental protection in polar waters, it is the coastal states of the polar regions that need to take responsibility to give effect to these initiatives. Australia and Canada are two of the most prominent polar states in Antarctica and the Arctic, respectively. Both have large maritime claims and have also developed a range of domestic legal and policy responses to enhance marine environmental protection in the polar regions. A review is undertaken of the respective global and regional marine environmental protection regimes that apply in the polar regions, followed by a comparative analysis of the Australian and Canadian initiatives.

scholarly journals BRICS in polar regions: Brazil’s interests and prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-340
Author(s):  
Paulo Borba Casella ◽  
◽  
Maria Lagutina ◽  
Arthur Roberto Capella Giannattasio ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Public Power ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
International Power ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
The Antarctic

The current international legal regulation of the Arctic and Antarctica was organized during the second half of the XX century to establish an international public power over the two regions, the Arctic Council (AC) and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), which is characterized by Euro-American dominance. However, the rise of emerging countries at the beginning of the XXI century suggests a progressive redefinition of the structural balance of international power in favor of states not traditionally perceived as European and Western. This article examines the role of Brazil within the AC and the ATS to address various polar issues, even institutional ones. As a responsible country in the area of cooperation in science and technology in the oceans and polar regions in BRICS, Brazil appeals to its rich experience in Antarctica and declares its interest in joining the Arctic cooperation. For Brazil, participation in polar cooperation is a way to increase its role in global affairs and BRICS as a negotiating platform. It is seen in this context as a promising tool to achieve this goal. This article highlights new paths in the research agenda concerning interests and prospects of Brazilian agency in the polar regions.

Bioprospecting in Antarctica and the Arctic. Common Challenges?

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-174
Author(s):  
David Leary
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Contact Group ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

Abstract Bioprospecting is occurring in the Arctic and Antarctica. This paper considers evidence on the nature and scale of bioprospecting in the Polar Regions. The paper then aims to draw out some of the critical issues in this debate by examining recent developments in the context of the Antarctic Treaty System. After an introduction to the history of the debate on bioprospecting in the Antarctic context it examines the recent Report of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (‘ATCM’) Intersessional Contact Group to examine the issue of Biologocal Prospecting in the Antarctic Treaty Area tabled at ATCM XVII in Kiev in June 2008. The paper then concludes with some brief thoughts on the relevance of the Arctic experience to the debate in relation to Antarctica and whether or not there is an ‘Arctic Model’ for a response to the bioprospecting question in Antarctica. It is argued that rather than there being one Arctic model there is in fact a spectrum of models and experiences to choose from.

Governing the antipodes: international cooperation in Antarctica and the Arctic

Polar Record ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oran R. Young
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTThe Arctic and the Antarctic appear to be polar opposites with regard to many matters, including the systems of governance that have evolved in the two regions. Antarctica is demilitarised, closed to economic development, open to a wide range of scientific activities, and subject to strict environmental regulations under the terms of the legally binding Antarctic Treaty of 1959 along with several supplementary measures that together form the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The Arctic, by contrast, is a theatre of military operations, a site of largescale industrial activities, a homeland for sizable groups of indigenous peoples, and a focus of growing concern regarding the environmental impacts of human activities. The Arctic Council, the principal international body concerned with governance at the regional level, operates under the terms of a ministerial declaration that is not legally binding; it lacks the authority to make formal decisions about matters of current interest. Digging a little deeper, however, one turns up some illuminating similarities between the governance systems operating in the antipodes. In this article, I pursue this line of thinking, setting forth a range of observations relating to (i) the history of governance in the antipodes, (ii) institutional innovations occurring in these regions, (iii) issues of membership, (iv) jurisdictional concerns, (v) the role of science, (vi) relations with the UN system, (vii) institutional interplay, and (viii) the adaptiveness of governance systems in the face of changing circumstances. The governance systems for the polar regions are not likely to converge anytime soon. Nevertheless, this analysis should be of interest not only to those concerned with the fate of Antarctica and the Arctic but also to those seeking to find effective means of addressing needs for governance in other settings calling for governance without government.

Invasion of the Poles

2020 ◽  
pp. 216-246
Author(s):  
Joanna Legeżyńska ◽  
Claude De Broyer ◽  
Jan Marcin Węsławski
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Polar Species ◽  
The Antarctic

Polar Crustacea show high taxonomic and functional diversity and hold crucial roles within regional food webs. Despite the differences in the evolutionary history of the two Polar regions, present data suggest rather similar species richness, with over 2,250 taxa recorded in the Antarctic and over 1,930 noted in the Arctic. A longer duration of isolated evolution resulted in a high percentage of endemic species in the Antarctic, while the relatively young Arctic ecosystem, subjected to advection from adjacent seas, shows a very low level of endemism. Low temperatures and seasonal changes of food availability have a strong impact on polar crustacean life histories, resulting in their slow growth and development, extended life cycles, and reproduction well synchronized with annual peaks of primary production. Many species, Antarctic amphipods in particular, exhibit a clear tendency to attain large size. In both regions, abundant populations of pelagic grazers play a pivotal role in the transport of energy and nutrients to higher trophic levels. The sea-ice habitat unique to polar seas supports a wide range of species, with euphausiids and amphipods being the most important in terms of biomass in the Antarctic and Arctic, respectively. Deep sea fauna remains poorly studied, with new species being collected on a regular basis. Ongoing processes, namely a decline of sea-ice cover, increasing levels of ultraviolet radiation, and invasions of sub-polar species, are likely to reshape crustacean communities in both Polar regions.

scholarly journals Polityczne i prawne aspekty prowadzenia badań naukowych w rejonach polarnych

2019 ◽  
pp. 335-347
Author(s):  
Aleksander Świątecki ◽  
Dorota Górniak ◽  
Marek Zdanowski ◽  
Jakub Grzesiak ◽  
Tomasz Mieczan
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
International Community ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Political ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

The Arctic and Antarctic have been of great interest to the international community for a number of years. The still unresolved problem regardingpolar regions is the still partially regulated legal issues concerning the management of these areas. Both the Arctic and Antarctica are areas of potentiallygreat scientific, economic, political and military importance. The political and legal status of polar areas is not uniform. Currently, there is no legalinternational document that would regulate issues related to the management of the Arctic region. The political and legal status of Antarctica wasdetermined in 1959 in Washington. The Antarctic Treaty regulates in detail the activities in this region. Territorial claims are a particularly importantproblem. A number of countries prove their territorial rights to both the Arctic and Antarctic. The Arctic division is discussed within five countries,without the participation of the international community, while the Antarctic Treaty arrangements have put these issues on ice until 2049. Internationalcooperation in the field of research of polar regions has a long history and is confirmed by bilateral and international agreements. Conducted researchin the Arctic and Antarctic relate to various scientific problems. Investigations of processes taking place on Earth on a global scale are of particularimportance, both in historical and prognostic perspective. The history of Polish polar research is rich, multi-faceted and dates back to the second half ofthe nineteenth century. Contemporary Polish polar research focuses on a number of problems: glaciology and periglacial phenomena, climatology,geomorphology, hydrology, and geo-ecosystems dynamics. Polish scientific activity, in these regions, significantly develops our positive relations withthe international community.

Do the Continental Shelf Developments Challenge the Polar Regimes?

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 477-497
Author(s):  
Timo Koivurova
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Made In ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

Abstract The article will provide a study of the continental shelf submissions that have been made in the polar regions and an evaluation as to whether these pose a challenge to the two polar regimes: the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Treaty System. This will be done by comparing these regimes, examining the development of the law of the sea as regards seabed rights and studying what sort of challenge the polar regimes face from the continental shelf activity in both polar regions and how serious that challenge is. Conclusions are finally drawn as to what types of effects may ensue for the polar regimes from the continental shelf submissions by various states.

scholarly journals Evolution in the cold

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Antarctic Fish ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Adaptive Radiations ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Theodosius Dobzhansky once remarked that nothing in biology makes sense other than in the light of evolution, thereby emphasising the central role of evolutionary studies in providing the theoretical context for all of biology. It is perhaps surprising then that evolutionary biology has played such a small role to date in Antarctic science. This is particularly so when it is recognised that the polar regions provide us with an unrivalled laboratory within which to undertake evolutionary studies. The Antarctic exhibits one of the classic examples of a resistance adaptation (antifreeze peptides and glycopeptides, first described from Antarctic fish), and provides textbook examples of adaptive radiations (for example amphipod crustaceans and notothenioid fish). The land is still largely in the grip of major glaciation, and the once rich terrestrial floras and faunas of Cenozoic Gondwana are now highly depauperate and confined to relatively small patches of habitat, often extremely isolated from other such patches. Unlike the Arctic, where organisms are returning to newly deglaciated land from refugia on the continental landmasses to the south, recolonization of Antarctica has had to take place by the dispersal of propagules over vast distances. Antarctica thus offers an insight into the evolutionary responses of terrestrial floras and faunas to extreme climatic change unrivalled in the world. The sea forms a strong contrast to the land in that here the impact of climate appears to have been less severe, at least in as much as few elements of the fauna show convincing signs of having been completely eradicated.

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