Global Commons Antarctica Case Study Flashcards
What is a global common?
Refers to the Earth’s shared resources
Areas not owned by any one country or organisation - they belong to everybody.
Should be available for everybody’s use and benefit.
What are the 4 global commons?
High seas and deep oceans (areas of the sea that don’t belong to any country)
The atmosphere
The northern and southern polar regions – Antarctica, in particular
Outer space
What are the pressures on the global commons?
- ‘tragedy of the commons’.
- Industrialisation and development are increasing the demand for resources eg) oil many of these are extracted from the global commons.
Waste created that is pumped into the atmosphere eg) co2 or into the oceans (chemical waste) - New technology has made it easier to get to areas eg) high seas, Antarctica or outer space that were relatively inaccessible before – this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation.
Why do pressures on global commons cause problems for the planet as a whole?
The high seas – overfishing – affects the food chain and damage is caused to coral reefs.
Atmospheric pollution – causing climate change.
Increased c02 in the atmosphere also causes acidification of the oceans, which affects marine organisms, e.g. it’s harder for marine snails to form their shells.
Why is the global governance of the global commons needed?
Countries’ right to develop must be balanced by the need to protect
NGOs have called protection by making sure that any development and use of the areas is sustainable.
Sustainable development requires global cooperation.
Only truly universal and inclusive multilateral forum is the United Nations (UN).
- Frameworks for protecting the global commons that do exist have been described as “complex and fractured”.
- Large parts of the global commons are still without regional agreement and many of the older agreements don’t fully consider the environmental impacts of human activities on, e.g. ecosystems.
What is the tragedy of the commons?
Countries and organisations may feel they can exploit the global commons without dealing with the
consequences, as the costs of exploiting are shared by everybody
What is the background of Antarctica?
Most southern continent
Almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean
Estimated to be the 5th largest continent
Contains 90% of all ice on Earth, around 70% of the Earth’s fresh water.
It has no native (indigenous) population, but it has wildlife and minerals.
What is the climate of Antarctica?
Coldest, driest and windiest of all the Earth`s continents.
average temperature is -49oC
Varies across the continent
Most precipitation that falls is frozen.
Near the coast: precipitation 200 mm per year.
Interior gets only small amounts - a desert.
Gales and strong winds
What is the wildlife like in Antarctica?
low temps, little water and limited sunshine mean very few plants and
animals can survive in Antarctica.
The ones that can survive have to be specially adapted.
Only 2 species of flowering plants grow - lack of soil so lichens and mosses predominantly
Animal life is limited to minute insects and mites
supports a rich variety of marine birds e.g. penguins and seals.
lack of water, warmth and sunlight means terrestrial environment is fragile - Easy to disrupt any part of it
Environmental recovery is slow – eg) footprints on moss can remain for decades.
Fragile marine environment – if the population of one species decreases it affects the other species.
What is the Antarctic convergence?
Natural boundary in the Southern Ocean - a dividing line that loops all of the way around the Antarctic Continent.
Where cold north flowing waters separate from warmer waters of the subantarctic.
Where mixing and upwelling of water creates a highly productive marine environment for plant
life and animals e.g. krill.
What are the threats to Antarctica?
Climate change
Fishing and whaling
Search for minerals
Tourism
What is the climate change threat?
Antarctica facing loss of ice from ice sheets especially from Antarctic peninsula (AP)
AP is one of most rapidly warming places in the world.
Air temps have increased by 3° in last 50 years.
What is the impact of the climate change threat?
Global sea levels which have risen 3mm per year since 1990s could make edges of ice shelves unstable, increasing rate of melting.
Species of penguin (Adelie) adapted to sea ice have declined - chinstrap increased
Ocean acidification - c02 reacts with saltwater - forms carbonic acid and decreases calcium carbonate. Affects plankton which use this to form shells.
What is the fishing and whaling threat?
Whaling was common until the mid-20th Century. Significant population decline.
Fishing became the main economic use of the seas during 1960s and 70s
Over-exploited “tragedy of the commons”
Threatens species - Patagonian toothfish vulnerable to extinction.
Antarctic Krill are the most fished creature and in 2013 over 200 000 tonnes were fished. Knock-on effect on larger fish, marine mammals and birds.
Legal limits to fishing to keep stocks sustainable, but illegal fishing occurs
Albatrosses and petrels get caught in fishing lines and then drown
What are the successes and limitations to manage fishing and whaling?
1982 International Whaling Commission (IWC) brought in regulations to ban all commercial whaling.
Not followed by all countries e.g. Japan, Norway, Iceland.
In 1994 the IWC established the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, they banned all types of commercial whaling
Some continue to kill whales for ‘scientific purposes’
The whale population is now slowly recovering, but whales are slow breeders, so it will take a long time for stocks to be replenished.
Recently Japan has begun whaling again – this could be a future threat to Antarctica.
Japan resuming commercial whaling - extra
Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission, which it’s been a part of since 1951, to resume commercial whaling in 2019.
In 2023 it was reported that Japan is building a whaling ship that is designed to travel as far as Antarctica
Although this isn’t a threat to Antarctica now it shows that global governance isn’t straightforward – countries can withdraw from agreements.
What is the search for minerals threat?
Mineral deposits include coal, oil, gold.
Oil under southern ocean
Sizeable deposits that are easy to reach are rare and too expensive mine.
Mining is banned by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
Future resource demand will put pressure on these vast reserves
What is the tourism threat?
Advances in transport, technology and clothing make Antarctica more accessible.
Attractions: physical isolation, landscapes wildlife
Diversification of activities e.g. “adventure tourism”: mountaineering, diving, kayaking…
Research stations - British Antarctic Survey (BAS) welcomes some visits to some of its stations during the
summer.
Small scale tourism began in Antarctica in the 1950s - Not mass tourism but numbers have grown: 1980s over 2000 visitors per year, 2019/20 approximately 75,000 visitors.
Relatively small-scale so can be argued to be sustainable.
What are concerns to tourism?
Impacts fragile ecosystem
Disturbing wildlife breeding
Travel - water and air pollution
Disturbance can last decades
Boats grounding / hitting ice bergs
What are benefits of tourism?
Sound environmental records
Antarctic treaty system rules eg) one ship at a time landing, limiting number of tourists ashore and length of stay
Financially exclusive - visitors also tend to be responsible, well-educated and environmentally aware
What are some examples of NGOs that monitor threats and manage protection in Antarctica?
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Greenpeace
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
What are some examples of global institutions that monitor threats and manage protection in Antarctica?
Antarctic Treaty
International whaling commission
United Nations (UN)
What makes the role of NGOs important in Antarctica?
Monitoring possible threats and protect the environment.
Vital role in Antarctica as governments alone cannot help to monitor, understand or control every aspect of Antarctica.
Have little direct impact.
Provide expertise and provoke action.
Don’t act on behalf of country, so observe whether countries are sticking to the laws and call international attention to those who aren’t.
What is the role of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)?
In 1959, 12 nations, including USA and, as it was then, the USSR, signed this international agreement.
Today, 56 countries have signed it.
– in order to avoid disagreements and conflict, resolve disputes over ownership and mining rights, and to establish guidelines to limit development on the continent
