Keeping a distance to wildlife in the Antarctic: What brought about the recent changes in the Ross Sea region environmental code of conduct?

• Main Author: Andres, Angrid
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: University of Canterbury 2001
• Subjects: Antarctic; New Zealand; Ross Sea; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Antarctica New Zealand
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/14037

In 1998 Antarctica New Zealand released a new version of the Environmental Code of Conduct for the Ross Sea Region. The new regulations included a change in the distance that must be kept from all wildlife, which was now extended from 5m to 10m for all humans on foot. This change was based on recent scientific findings, which suggested that wildlife was actually more distlessed by approaching humans than had previously been believed. The following review will discuss some of the background studies carried out that provided a better understanding of the impacts human activities have on the Antarctic wildlife, and which inspired Antan:tica New Zealand to implement stricter and more specific regulations on environmental protection policies, as well as investigating what prompted Antarctica New Zealand to change the distance ruling. The disturbance to wildlife in the Antarctic has been described often, but the issue of human interference with the AntalTtic wildlife was leally only exposed in the mid- to late 1980s. Human activity has been known to impact on physiology, destruction of territory and habitat, disturbance of food chains, and directly as well as indirectly causing the loss of eggs and lives. These impacts could all result in short- or long-term changes in population size and stnrcture, as well as influencing breeding success and distribution patterns of wildlife (Chen and Blume, 1995). In 1998 Antarctica New Zealand released a new version of the Environmental Code of Conduct for the Ross Sea Region. The new regulations included a change in the distance that must be kept from all wildlife, which was now extended from 5m to 10m for all humans on foot. This change was based on recent scientific findings, which suggested that wildlife was actually more distlessed by approaching humans than had previously been believed. The following review will discuss some of the background studies carried out that provided a better understanding of the impacts human activities have on the Antarctic wildlife, and which ...