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| Peep through the Iceberg Photo by divedivajade |
Even with the harsh conditions in Antarctica, like the isolation, snow, ice, high winds and raging seas, these reasons will still see the throngs of people, around 11,200 of them except for perhaps 130 tourists, aboard cruise liners this coming tourist season. While that total is only about 400 more than the number of visitors last season mid November through February, it is 70 percent higher than the 6,585 previous seasons. Antarctica's many watchers are growing worried towards its environment and warned that Antarctic visitors could grow by the thousands annually.
The cost of Antarctic cruises can easily reach $20,000 a person, and the average 14-day cruise is a still hefty $6,000 to $7,000, plus, roundtrip air fare to Ushuaia, Argentina in Tierra del Fuego from which 90 percent of the trips depart. 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.
The director of the Antarctic Project said that people should have an opportunity to see Antarctica's beauty, but there should be a cap on the number of visitors and a ban on any new sites. This Washington based initiative is the secretariat for the 200 conservation teams spanning across 40 countries and growing. It's true that once people visit Antarctica they come back committed to its conservation, but the downside is that there are so many visitors and Antarctica is so fragile, that there's a danger they're loving it to death.
A six thousand limit of yearly visitors is being pushed by a director, as there are tons of voyagers going to the same few places on the 800 mile long Antarctic Peninsula, which is home to the biggest concentration of animals like penguins, birds and seals. However, tourists groups setting foot on the ground does not often exceed 100 visitors at a certain occasion. Animals get disrupted and so they are unable to rest between visits and don't have, much time to hunt for food for themselves along with their little ones.
Science is unable to see yet if this will have a long term impact, she further reveals. Growing fears thrive in the probability that garbage will be left behind by tourists and that they will touch the plants. Such is the explanation as to why when travelers go ashore, large and experienced staffs make sure they have little if no impact and also this is why many tour operators strictly observe the guidelines for visitors as stated by the system patterned after the Antarctic Treaty. With the series of agreements namely the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, since signed by 43 different countries, along with an environmental protocol that since January 14, 1998 has been promulgated, has put a stop to oil drilling and mining, and also created environmental safeguards, like fishing limits and of course, Antarctic cruises on certain occasions.
Members of the New York based association group have voluntarily adopted the limit for shore visits which can only accommodate a hundred people at a time and for this, they bring in the use of motorized rubber boats, zodiacs. Russian flags are being flown, this season, by nine air crafts out of the fifteen commissioned. The Soviet Union disbandment saw several small sea vessels seized by tour operators for their advantage. It is a fact that around 40 to 80 people can board these ships, an icebreaker along several others with tough hulls for plowing through the ice. But it is obvious that the environmental problems of the frozen continent makes many so concerned. There is a possibility that one day, we worried about it needlessly even if there was no need to. But as we wait for science to bring forth the answer, it is best to take it upon ourselves and restrain our trips to the Frozen Continent.
The cost of Antarctic cruises can easily reach $20,000 a person, and the average 14-day cruise is a still hefty $6,000 to $7,000, plus, roundtrip air fare to Ushuaia, Argentina in Tierra del Fuego from which 90 percent of the trips depart. 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.
The director of the Antarctic Project said that people should have an opportunity to see Antarctica's beauty, but there should be a cap on the number of visitors and a ban on any new sites. This Washington based initiative is the secretariat for the 200 conservation teams spanning across 40 countries and growing. It's true that once people visit Antarctica they come back committed to its conservation, but the downside is that there are so many visitors and Antarctica is so fragile, that there's a danger they're loving it to death.
A six thousand limit of yearly visitors is being pushed by a director, as there are tons of voyagers going to the same few places on the 800 mile long Antarctic Peninsula, which is home to the biggest concentration of animals like penguins, birds and seals. However, tourists groups setting foot on the ground does not often exceed 100 visitors at a certain occasion. Animals get disrupted and so they are unable to rest between visits and don't have, much time to hunt for food for themselves along with their little ones.
Science is unable to see yet if this will have a long term impact, she further reveals. Growing fears thrive in the probability that garbage will be left behind by tourists and that they will touch the plants. Such is the explanation as to why when travelers go ashore, large and experienced staffs make sure they have little if no impact and also this is why many tour operators strictly observe the guidelines for visitors as stated by the system patterned after the Antarctic Treaty. With the series of agreements namely the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, since signed by 43 different countries, along with an environmental protocol that since January 14, 1998 has been promulgated, has put a stop to oil drilling and mining, and also created environmental safeguards, like fishing limits and of course, Antarctic cruises on certain occasions.
Members of the New York based association group have voluntarily adopted the limit for shore visits which can only accommodate a hundred people at a time and for this, they bring in the use of motorized rubber boats, zodiacs. Russian flags are being flown, this season, by nine air crafts out of the fifteen commissioned. The Soviet Union disbandment saw several small sea vessels seized by tour operators for their advantage. It is a fact that around 40 to 80 people can board these ships, an icebreaker along several others with tough hulls for plowing through the ice. But it is obvious that the environmental problems of the frozen continent makes many so concerned. There is a possibility that one day, we worried about it needlessly even if there was no need to. But as we wait for science to bring forth the answer, it is best to take it upon ourselves and restrain our trips to the Frozen Continent.
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