Polar Record 27 (160): 1-{3(1991). Printed in Great Britain 1 Antarctic environmental planning and management: conclusions from Casey, Australian Antarctic Territory Lorne K. Kriwoken Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia Received January 1989 ABSTRACT. The Antarctic environment hasundergone significant localenvironmental damage anddegradation, with nationsrebuilding, expanding, or developing stationsandbases.TheAustralian Antarctic Division'sten-year(1985-95) A$76.704 million programme of rebuilding and expanding stationsin Australian Antarctic Territory is representative of a continent-wide increasein station numbers and impact,increasing station size, human numbers,lengthsof roads, buildings, wastematerial production, and energyrequirements. Environmental planningand impactassessment have notbeenincorporated inofficial decision-making; human activitiesatAustralian Antarctic Territorystationshadserious impactson thelimitedice-freelandandlocalfloraandfauna. Casey,a re-developed station,isexaminedwithreference to environmental planningand management underAntarctic Treatyobligations and recentAustralian environmental legislation. Recommendations includethesettingupofan Australian Antarctic Resources Committeeresponsible inter alia forenvironmental planning and management, including regional andstationmanagement plansandcumulative and environmental impactassessment for all Antarcticoperations. Contents Australian Antarctic Territory (AA1) has eight sta­ Introduction 1 tionsand 12bases (1988) of whichthreestationsand two Growthof humanimpact 1 bases are operated by Australia, the rest by USSR. The Planningand management legislation 3 Australian ten-year programme (1985-95) of rebuilding Impactsat the Wilkes/Casey site 4 and expanding its three permanent stations Casey, Recommendations 6 Mawson and Davis, on a budget of A$76.704 million An Australian Antarctic Resources Commiuee 7 (Australia 1988), involves a growing environmental im­ Summaryand conclusions 8 pact. Theprogrammewillincreasethesizeofstationsand Acknowledgements, references 8 the number of buildings and personnel, the length and complexity of roads, and the amounts of waste material Introduction and consumed energy. Antarctica's very limited ice-free terrestrial environment This article examinesa conspicuous lack of environ­ issubjecttoincreasing human impactas nationsrebuildor mental planning and management (EPM) at Casey, and expand over-wintering stations and summer bases. All recommends EPMinallfutureAustralian Antarctic opera­ nationsacceding to the Antarctic Treaty,signedin 1959, tions, under an independent Australian Antarctic Re­ were required under Article IX(2) to conduct research sources Commiuee with responsibility for management activity 'including the establishment of stations or the planning and environmental and cumulative impact as­ dispatchof a scientific expedition', inorder to becomean sessments. AntarcticTreaty Consultative Party (ATCP). Although this requirement wasremoved in 1977,new parties have Growth of human impact continued to construct stations. Because the Antarctic Human activityon continental Antarctica began in 1898 Treatydoesnotprovideprescriptive adviceonthesitingof whenBorchgrevink first wintered onland. Withinthenext stations,increased numbers of ATCPsand the numberof 60 years exploration was limited to small parties with states acceding to the Antarctic Treaty since 1977 have concentrated facilities. Stationlocationsweremostlysites exacerbated environmental impactwith the expansion of accessible from the sea and free from summersnow. On facilities. a continental scale the impact of these expeditions was Currently22 nations operate44 stationsand about45 minimal. Withinthis earlyperiodonly twostations were summerbases in the Antarctic Treatyarea. Summerand builtin AAT, for Mawson's Australasian AntarcticExpe­ winter populations are in the order of 2700 and 800 dition (Chester 1986) at Cape Denison in 1911, and respectively. Someareconcentrated insmallareas(nota­ Mawson, thefirst ANARE station,in HolmeBayin 1954 bly King George Island and Ross Island). Increased (Law 1983). human activity associated with Antarctic stations and From the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of bases has resulted in significant localized environmental 1958-59 the numbers, size and impact of Antarctic sta­ damage and degradation to the terrestrial environment tions increased substantially. For IGY some 50 were (Bonner 1984;Benninghoff andBonner 1985). established continent-wide (Benninghoff and Bonner 2 KRIWOKEN 030'E 88°14'S 110 ~? Southern Ocean Budd Coast, Wilkes Land Clark Peninsula<, Wilkes Station Newcombe Bay o a ~ ,~V~';'"'Old· V"rnew/'V,'. Casey Station .- Casey ((~ Bailey Peninsula Station -)(... SSSSI No.18 88°18'S d o 4km ~ !, ! • I U r4 Fig. 1. Location map. 1985:16):withinAAT,Australia, USSRand USArespec­ ronmental matters. The state of Victoria introduced the tively established Davis, Minty and Wilkes on the coast, Environment Protection Act in 1970 and New South and several smaller field stations, and USSR established Wales introduceditsPlanningandEnvironmentCommis­ Vostok inland. sion Act in 1974 (Bates 1983). In 1974 the federal After IGY several stations were maintained in use. government introduced the Environment Protection Over the years the populations of surviving stations and (ImpactofProposals)Act,whichprovidesfortheenviron­ their successors have tended to grow, their facilities and mental impact of proposed Australian activities in the infrastructureexpanded, and their impact on the ice-free Antarctic,and the AustralianNationalParks and Wildlife terrestrialenvironment increased. During the late 1960s Servicewascreatedin 1975toestablishand manageparks and '70s temporarystationsof lGY vintagebecamestruc­ and reserves over land and sea areas. turally unsound,and permanentstations involving heavy ThereplacementofCaseyispart of Australia's current construction materials,and requiringelaborate construc­ rebuilding programme in which its three permanent sta­ tion machineryand facilities,were built to replace them. tionsCasey, Davisand Mawson,will all be replaced. The Some of theseare again due for replacement. Succession Department of Housing and Construction (DHC), acting is illustratedin the NewcombeBay region, WilkesLand. as client to the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Wilkes,on ClarkPeninsula,wasbuilt of temporarymate­ began work in 1979-80. Old Casey, located on a rock rials for lGY by the US and abandonedafter a year's use. peninsula and separated from the mainland by Thala It was usedby Australiafor fouryearswhilea newstation, Valley, consists of buildings on an elevated scaffolding Casey, was being built on nearby Bailey Peninsula (Fig. structure set across the prevailing wind (Figs. 2 and 3). 1), and finally abandoned in 1969. 'Old' Casey was Subject to continual snow drift and stress failures, the recently (1986-87) replaced by a new building complex buildings havesufferedextensivestructuraldeterioration. on a third site in the area (see below). New Casey, 0.7 km from the old, was built mainly in Fromabout 1977therewasasignificantincreaseinthe 1986-87. The old station is scheduled for eventual re­ number of statesacceding to the AntarcticTreaty, includ­ moval. ingseveral with ATCPstatus. In AAT thescale of Soviet Areasadjacentto Caseywithrichand diversecolonies operations exceeded that of Australia. On Antarctic of moss, lichen, and algae were identified in the early Peninsula Argentine and Chilean parties included fami­ 1960s but never designated as protected areas. Federal lies. Stations became polar townships with associated environment legislation specifically requiring impact infrastructure,some includingsuch cost-recovery activi­ assessment existed before the rebuilding programme ties as tourism (Headland and Keage 1985). began. Yet the new station was built adjacent to Site of From the 1970sonward environmental planning and SpecialScientificInterest(SSSI)No 16(Fig. 1). Applica­ impact legislation, including land and water resources tion of established principles of EPM was, and continues planning, pollution control, and environmental impact to be, ignored by DHC and AAD. The result has been to assessment came to be accepted in Australia (Buckley degrade severely the terrestrialenvironment surrounding 1988: 206; Bates 1983: 8). An Australian Environment both old and new Casey stations, and the adoption of Council wascreated to co-ordinatefederaland state envi- misguided and inadequate managementpractices. ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING 3 44~_ -=-~_ "~--;,.- ~ ...._ __ Fig.2. 'Old' Caseyin foreground: looking north across New­ combe Bay to Clark Peninsula and the site of Wilkes Sta­ tion. Planning and management legislation the Antarctic Treaty system are there guidelines on the siting of permanent stations, summer bases, or research Antarctic Treaty and related recommendations facilities with respect to environmentally sensitive areas. International obligations for protection of the Antarctic Specific management plans designating the size and de­ environment derive from the Antarctic Treaty and subse­ sign of the bases and the extent and operating criteria of quent measures formulated and agreed by the ATCPs. The station activities in a region are not required for scrutiny. Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna There is no comprehensive view of future station develop­ and Flora 1964 provide for the conservation of flora and ment and no