Antarctic tourism limits on the horizon
At left, the M/V Professor Molchanov is dwarfed by the collapsed crater of the Deception Island caldera. Tourists are spread far and thin across the frozen continent, but stricter caps on numbers are on the way.
A U.S. proposal to cap tourism in Antarctica did not winning universal acclaim. The proposed limits are unfair if they’re not equally applied to research vessels, an Australian tour operator said in an interview with The Australian.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said earlier this year that stricter limits are needed to protect the area’s fragile ecosystems. The proposal would limit the size of tourist ships allowed in Antarctica and restrict how many people can go ashore.
The vigorous debate on the proposal was outlined in The Australian. Some tour operators in Australia backed the proposed regulations, saying that greedy companies are on the verge of ruining a good thing. Others were critical of any caps. Check out the debate here.
Clinton’s plan would encourage greater international cooperation to prevent discharges from ships that could further degrade the environment around Antarctica. Two ships ran aground in the region last season, while another sank after hitting an iceberg the year before.
Research and tourism in Antarctica is governed under a treaty that calls for consultative talks on a regular basis. It’s a unique international collaborative process that has been working well so far. The nations cooperating under the treaty met in April, 2009.
