Wilderness and Aesthetic Values of

Abstract Antarctica is the least inhabited region in the world and has therefore had the least influence from human activities and, unlike the majority of the Earth’s continents and oceans, can still be considered as mostly wilderness. As every visitor to Antarctica knows, its landscapes are exceptionally beautiful. It was the recognition of the importance of these characteristics that resulted in their protection being included in the Madrid Protocol. Both wilderness and aesthetic values can be impaired by human activities in a variety of ways with the severity varying from negligible to severe, according to the type Protocol on Environmental Protec tion to the Trea ty - of activity and its duration, spatial extent and intensity. A map of infrastructure and major travel routes the "M adrid Protocol" in Antarctica will be the first step in visually representing where wilderness and aesthetic values Article 3[1]

may be impacted. It is hoped that this will stimulate further discussion on how to describe, acknowledge, The protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent an d associated ecosystems and the intrinsic value of Antarctica, understand and further protect the wilderness and aesthetic values of Antarctica. including its wilderness and aesthetic values and its value as an area for the conduct of scientific research, in particular research essential to understanding the global environment, shall be fundamental considerations in the planning and condu ct of all activities in the Antarctic Treaty area.

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Environmental Domains of Antarctica The e nvironmen tal domains of Antarctica (EDA) dataset p rovides a bio-geographical classification Aesthetic values of the Antarctic enviro nment. It was comp iled by La ndcare Research in New Zea lan d and is being “There is, I fe el sure, no reg ion in the wo rld more grand in its sce nery tha n the Antarctic, an d no place m ore t ranscenden t in its be auty. hosted on t he Antarctic Tre aty Secreta riat and Australian Anta rctic D ivision websites after its It is a vast w onderland laid out o n a vast sca le, in w hich littleness has no p lace; but its ve ry vastness, no less t han its beauty, accept ance at ATCM XXXI (R esolu tion 3, 200 8). It assists the requirem ent und er Annex V o f the whlile it q uickens the traveller’s daily w onlider and deepen s h is reveren ce, forces him to feel that it is a world he can n ever conq uer, Protocol on En vironment al Protection to the Antarctic Treaty of building a systematic a world in which the fo rces of na ture are t oo tremendo us to overcom e, and must re signed ly be bowed before in the h ope tha t they will environmen tal-geo grap hical framew ork for the iden tification of a reas to be includ ed in Antarctic suffe r him to co me and pass again unscathed .” R udmose Brow n. 1906 . The Voyage of the “Scotia”. Sp ecially Protected Areas, wh ich includes “a reas of outstanding ae sth etic a nd wilderness values”. The p rote ction o f aesthetic valu es of Antarctica can be inte rpreted a s p rotection o f natural la ndsca pes, especia lly those to which we respond as Wilderness values beautiful or awesom e. "The Antarctic continent is the last landm ass to be ent ered and utilized by Man. Research in lan dscap e aesthetics has found that hu mans re sp ond mo re po sitive ly to certain landscapes than others: mount ain s, lakes and The con tine nt is so vast an d inhospitable that, even with m odern tra nsp ort a nd othe r coa sta l scenes ten d to be more highly p referre d. Visua l evidence o f human activity, for examp le, b uildings, struct ures an d other tech nologies, Man h as made o nly a f ew tracks an d establishe d only a few sm all artefa cts te nds to detract from hum an aesthe tic response to land scape s a nd this has been sh own to be the ca se in Antarctica a lso. sett lem ents on its surfa ce. The Antarctic is the ep ito me of w ilderness, yet it has While it is not practicab le t o id entify every landscape tha t may have a est hetic value, it is possib le t o id entify those types of landscapes con tributed much to h uman w elfare thro ugh the scientific d iscoveries mad e there. that hum ans pre fer. Area s a roun d la ke s, f or exam ple , as well as havin g scientific va lue tend a lso ha ve hig h aesthetic valu e. Continued use of the Ant arctic, especially if increased, could erode or destroy so me of Wilderness and ae sth etic values may be im paired by h uman a ctivities; th e severity varying from neg ligible to severe acco rding to the type the natu ral qualities of this unspoilt wilde rness unless special care is ta ken to avoid or of activity and th e dist ance the impa ct may carry, both visibly an d audibly. reduce t he effects of n ew activities." Be nninghoff, W.S. a nd Bonn er, W.N. (1985). Man 's impact on t he Antarctic environm ent. The M adrid Protocol provide s f or th e pro tectio n of wilderness and aesthe tic values both thro ugh the environme ntal im pact proce ss Response by th e Scien tific Com mittee on Anta rctic R esearch ... to R ecommen dation XII-3 (Art icle 3.1 a nd Article 3 .2.b.vi; An nex I, Article 3 .2.i) and the Antarct ic Specially Protected Are a Syste m (Ann ex V, Article 3.1 and Article 3.2 .g). of the Tw elfth Antarctic Tre aty Consultative Mee tin g. The Antarctic Treaty area is the least inhab ited reg ion in the wo rld and has had th e le ast in flue nce A ma p of infrast ructure and major travel rou tes in Anta rctica will be t he first step in visu ally re present ing where w ilderness and ae sth etic values from human act ivitie s. As a result, much of its wildern ess a nd aesthet ic values have remained have been imp acted. It is hope d that th is w ill stimu late furth er d iscussion o n how to describe, ackno wledge, u ndersta nd and furth er protect inta ct. Despite the inclusio n of w ilderness and ae sth etic values unde r the Madrid Proto co l, Skie r ne ar Rothe ra Resea rch Sta tion the wilderness a nd aesthe tic values of Antarct ica. there is no form al d efinition in t he Pro tocol or an yw here else in the Antarctic Treaty Syste m of how th ese va lue s sho uld be defined in the Antarctic context. M ost modern definitions of w ilderness, including tho se use d in the w ilderness la ws and p olicies of 15 coun tries in both no rthe rn an d sou thern hemispheres, in clude ide as of natu ralness and d istance from h uman settlem ent and activity b ut these h ave ye t to be tested in Antarctica. Acknowledgments:

Po ste r comp iled by Tina Tin and R upert Summe rson Map compiled by R upert Summe rson Ph otos: Ru pert Summerson 31 March 2009 An tarc tic Rese arch Station Coast west o f Ma wson Sta tion