Environmental Concerns, A Perennial Problem

Despite Antarctica’s ice, snow, isolation, high winds and raging seas and for hardy types, precisely for these reasons, the continent will be visited by an estimated 11,200 people this tourist season, all but about 130 of them on cruise ships. The difference of this total to last year may only be 400 travelers, nonetheless, this is a great jump of 70 percent compared to the past 6,585 tourist seasons which also ran from mid November and through the month of February. Watchers of the White Continent have growing trepidation over the environmental state in Antarctica and also reveal that there can be a flood of annual visitors going by the thousands.

Twenty thousand dollars gets one person a cruise to Antarctica, but he will have to also shoulder his 14 day cruise that costs a hefty six to seven thousand dollars and of course, a round trip ticket as he will have to depart from Ushuaia Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, where 90 percent of voyagers originate. Despite the fact that Antarctica appears to be indestructible especially with the cost of venturing there as well as the impossible climate and geographic characteristics, the fact is that its ecosystem may soon begin to suffer greatly from the throng of travelers. If you need more details on Papua New Guinea Tours visit there.

The Antarctic Project’s director states that visitors should have the chance to behold the wonders of the white continent but there should be restrictions on the annual number of visitors along with banning new site explorations. This secretariat for more than two hundred environmental organizations spanning over 40 nations is based in Washington. While people, after visiting Antarctica become committed to protecting its environment, the truth is that there are just too many of these travelers and there’s a risk that they are falling for this fragile place too much.

A fair limit of only 6,000 guests annually is being proposed by this director as he is very much concerned about the damage caused by the thousands of travelers heading to the usual places which is home to the most species of birds, penguins and seals in the 800 mile Antarctic Peninsula. However, tourists groups setting foot on the ground does not often exceed 100 visitors at a certain occasion. It is so bad that animals get disrupted when there are visitors for they cannot get food for themselves or for their young and they are also not able to rest.

Science is unable to see yet if this will have a long term impact, she further reveals. Among the growing concerns of watchers are the fact that tourists will touch plants and not dispose garbage properly. With the proper reinforcement of the Treaty of Antarctica, we know understand the reason why many experienced staff see to it that travelers going ashore do not make much or any impact, and also this sheds light as to why most tour operators strictly operate with these guidelines and rules. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, ratified after the signature of 43 different countries, on top of the environmental protocol signed last January 14, 1998 ended the oil explorations and mining operations as well as ventured into environmental safeguards from fishing limits up to Antarctic cruises on various seasons. You may be looking for Travel New Guinea information, in which case you should visit that site.

The tour association members based in New York voluntarily took the 100 person limit for shore tours where they employ zodiacs which are motorized boats made of rubber. This season, some 9 out of the 15 vessels in Antarctica soar with the flags of Russia. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, an opportunity for tour operators rose as several small sea vessels became available for them. A ship that is called an icebreaker, along with several other ships with hardened hulls to face tough ice can accommodate 40 to 80 individuals. But as for now, environmental concerns keep plaguing the Earth’s final frontier. We can wish that as we look back in the future, we heave a sigh of relief, as all those worries did not really come to something. Until the day science sheds light on these questions, we will have to limit our travels to Antarctica for this continent’s sake.