Edited by Rachel Duncan 4th Edition ISBN 0-907649-91-2 London ...

14 RGS-IBG Polar Expeditions Manual
reason you wish to visit. There are a range of categories of protected areas, e.g. Scientific
Reserve, National Park, Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Site, etc., with different
regulations for each category and even site.
2.7 Humans and the Arctic
The Arctic has been increasingly populated by humans since the retreat of the last ice-age.
The Inuit of Greenland and Canada, marginalised and exploited by European and
American traders and hunters have seen a rise in self-determination and some successful
land settlement claims. Together with the Alaskan natives, the Norwegian Saami and the
tribes of the Russian north, including the Yakuts, Chukchi and Aleut, the indigenous
people of the Arctic, until very recently, lived as their ancestors had done during the early
days of mainly coastal occupation, in small, nomadic groups with a rich culture but few
material possessions.
However, the exploration of the Arctic during the 18 th and 19 th centuries by
whalers, sealers, missionaries and European expeditions under the flag of nationalism, saw
the decline of the traditional way of life for many Arctic communities. This rate of change
accelerated for much of the 20th century. Today, the ancient traditions are being actively
preserved, not just for the tourist but so that the people of the Arctic can retain their
identity. Prejudice and persecution is still however rife, with for example, the Saami of
Norway still engaged with the government over rights to land. In the 21 st century the
greatest threat to the Arctic is potential damage to the environment from the search and
extraction of fossil fuels, not just from Alaska, but from beneath the icecap of Greenland
and the Arctic Ocean itself. The Arctic is also being polluted by contaminants from more
industrialised countries, with levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) reaching
dangerous levels in predators at the top of the food chain such as the polar bear. The
Russian Arctic is a particular threat with leaking oil and gas pipelines, nuclear test sites
and polluted rivers.
In contrast to the Arctic, the Antarctic has no indigenous people and the Southern
Ocean was virtually unknown before the 16 th Century. During the 19 th and early 20 th
century sealers and whalers decimated colonies of fur-seals, with factory whaling ships
reducing some whale populations to virtual extinction. It is, however, the Antarctic Heroic
Age of Exploration which has continued to capture the public’s imagination.
Since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1961 the Antarctic has been populated
by scientists and support staff and more recently by tourists and travellers. There are a
number of bases in Antarctica and on the sub-Antarctic islands, run by countries which
have signed the Antarctic Treaty. Like the Arctic, Antarctica receives damaging industrial
emissions and is a potential rich source of hydro-carbons. In 2050, when the Antarctic
Treaty is due to be reviewed, there could be great international pressure to start extraction
of fossil fuels to meet a world-wide shortage, if alternative sources of fuel are not in place.
2.8 Environmentally responsible expeditions
Far reaching international agreements of the 1990s have placed fairly and squarely on
every nation, local government and individual, a responsibility to plan our actions so as to
limit adverse impacts on the environment. The overriding principle is that of sustainability.
This idea is directly applicable to expeditions. You should leave the environment in which
you are working, as you found it. Indeed you should aim to have a positive effect, clearing