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Antarctica - Coggle Diagram
Antarctica
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Management / protection
1946, International Whaling Commission - has reduced whale hunting dramatically, but illegal whale hunting still occurs and populations continue to decline.
1991, Madrid Protocol - expanded regulations to protect Antarctica's environment - successful
Antarctic and Southern Ocean coalition - a group of 30 NGOs, including WWF.
1959, Antarctic Treaty - mostly successful but there is no central body to enforce regulations - potential for exploitation.
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Threat - Climate Change
Some believe that climate change is melting polar ice caps, sea ice and land ice.
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Ocean temperature, currents and weather patterns are changing over Antarctica.
Antarctica is one of the fastest warming places on earth with summer temperatures already 3 degrees celsius higher than in 1950.
The western side Antarctica is losing a significant amount of land ice and not gaining sea ice, whereas on the eastern side sea ice is increasing dramatically and some land ice is growing.
Threat - Torusirm
Tourism is destructive to fragile environments and can accidentally introduce invasive species + cause birds to abandon nests.
The tourist season coincides with the breeding season, bringing maximum potential for disturbance
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Large cruises with over 500 passengers are now banned due to the destructive intensity of their impact on small landing areas.
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Key facts
7 nations have 'claim' on Antarctica based on historical exploration, including the UK and Norway.
1959, Antarctic Tretay - demilitarised Antarctica + ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes only, promoting international cooperation.
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Threat - Mining
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However, global warming changing will make exploitation more feasible and technological developments will allow mining in the most different of environments.
There are considerable deposits of minerals in Antarctica but are inaccessible due to a very thick ice sheet. The extreme Antarctic climate adds to the difficulties of extraction.