Carbon dioxide emissions of Antarctic tourism

The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This paper presents and applies a methodology for quantifying CO2 emissions, both for the Antarctic vessel fleet as a whole and per passenger (both per trip and per day). The results indicate that the average tourist trip to Antarctica results in 5.44 t of CO2 emissions per passenger, or 0.49 t per passenger and day. Approximately 70% of these emissions are attributable to cruising and 30% to flying, which highlights the global environmental relevance of local transport for this type of touris

Perspective: Strategic challenges of tourism development and governance in Antarctica: taking stock and moving forward

Antarctic tourism has grown rapidly in volume and diversified into an ever wider range of activities, transport modes and destinations. Antarctica is a global commons, which limits the range of options for regulating tourism development. This configuration has raised concerns and debates among academics, policy makers and interest groups about the challenges for regulation and management in the long term. Based on a literature review of recently published research and policy papers, this article takes stock of the current state of knowledge about the strategic challenges facing Antarctic tourism regulators and proposes ways forward for research and policy. Three clusters of strategic challenges are presented: addressing collective interests in the face of increasingly diverging interests of actors; the complex nature and indeterminacy of Antarctic tourism processes and impacts across different spatial and temporal scales; and the reliance on shared responsibility in developing and implementing tourism policy. In light of these strategic challenges, this article outlines aspects that need to be improved if a more strategic governance approach is to be embraced towards Antarctic tourism. The paper posits that a collective strategy on Antarctic tourism should be positioned at the heart of Antarctic tourism regulation and should be developed to address upcoming challenges more comprehensively and consistently. Finally, besides identifying policy instruments capable of contributing towards this strategy, independent monitoring and observation systems ought to be created to guarantee impartial checks and balances with regard to Antarctic tourism

A controlled study of temporal lobe structure volumes and P300 responses in schizophrenic patients with persistent auditory hallucinations

Recent studies of cerebral pathology in patients with schizophrenia have focused on symptomatological and electrophysiological correlates of reduced temporal lobe structure volumes. Volume deficits of the left superior temporal gyrus have been correlated with auditory hallucinations as well as to left-sided P300 amplitude reduction. However, caution is needed to interpret correlational data as evidence of a specific relationship. Therefore, a controlled study was undertaken on schizophrenic patients with and without auditory hallucinations. MRI-defined volumes of the left superior temporal gyrus and other temporal lobe structures were quantified from 3-mm coronal slices in 15 schizophrenic patients with chronic auditory hallucinations (hallucinators), 15 schizophrenic patients without auditory hallucinations (nonhallucinators) and 17 healthy controls. In all subjects a simple oddball paradigm was used to elicit P300 responses at temporal and centro-parietal electrode sites. No evidence was found for volume reductions of temporal lobe structures in the combined patient group compared with controls, or in the hallucinators compared with the nonhallucinators. The patients did show left P300 amplitude reduction compared with controls, particularly in the hallucinator group. Correlations between volumes of left temporal lobe structures and left P300 amplitudes were low and not significant. The results of the present study do not indicate that auditory hallucinations and associated abnormal electrophysiological activity are the consequence of atrophy of localized temporal lobe structures. However, replication in a larger sample of subjects is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn

Governing conservation tourism partnerships in Kenya

This article adopts the Policy Arrangements Approach to study how the stability of conservation tourism partnerships is governed. Our study compares two private-community partnerships in Kenya to explore how incongruences resulting from internal dynamics and external challenges are faced. Drawing on the notion of metagovernance, the article examines the roles of the actors involved in ensuring internal and external congruence. It is concluded that conservation tourism PCPs are adaptive entities that need to be actively governed, to ensure long term outcomes that are effective and democratic, and that both state and non-state actors can take on this role

Short-circuiting cruise tourism practices along the Russian Barents Sea coast? The case of Arkhangelsk

The growth and popularity of polar cruise tourism in the Arctic region have raised expectations about the opportunities in this part of the world. However, the existing academic literature has never ventured further than to recall these expectations and opportunities, which means that there is hardly any insight into what is actually happening in Russian Arctic cruise tourism. This paper aims to provide a practicebased perspective with a special focus on performed and integrated practices in the production of cruise tourism along the Russian Barents Sea coast. Semi-structured interviews with key actors involved in the production of cruise tourism serve as the main source of information along with observations made during fieldwork in the Arkhangelsk region. Cruise tourism practices are facing a number of challenges in their reproduction and lack both consistency and regularity. The practice-based perspective helps to reveal how groups of actors collectively produce activities and itineraries for cruise tourists despite the structural constraints. Moreover, the paper shows how local private entrepreneurs are actively trying to configure and connect the constituting cruise tourism practices

Diversification of Antarctic tourism: the case of a scuba diving expedition

Tourism in Antarctica has grown substantially over recent decades and has diversified into different activities and modes of transport. This paper presents a first attempt to explore the implications of this diversification trend for Antarctic tourist experiences, wildlife and onsite management. Evidence from a passenger survey, participatory observations and expert interviews using video elicitation has been collected during, and in the context of, a diving expedition cruise. The data suggests that significant differences can be detected in the way divers and non-divers experience aspects of the trip, most notably regarding guides. The results also indicate that diverse activities generate a broader variance in attitudes and behaviours, which may have repercussions for wildlife, site use and onsite management. Given the diversification trend it is timely and necessary to revisit and consistently enforce site guidelines and visitor guidelines with an eye on multi-activity trips. In addition, further studies on the implications of this trend are needed by means of case studies, surveys looking at a wider range of tourist trips, and monitoring programmes assessing wildlife behaviour and impacts

Reaching Consensus on Antarctic Tourism Regulation - Calibrating the Human-Nature Relationship?

The states that jointly manage Antarctica were not yet able to reach consensus on a number of specific Antarctic tourism management issues. While recognizing that many factors influence the international decision-making process, this chapter aims to explore one rarely discussed philosophical factor that may be of great significance for understanding the difficulties in reaching consensus: the possible differences in the human-nature relationship among the Consultative Parties (CPs) and expert organizations. Based on an explorative analysis of relevant documents, it is concluded that CPs and expert organizations consistently reject the “mastery” attitude, both in general Antarctic policy instruments and in tourism-specific documents. The relevant documents relating to two subthemes (the acceptability of permanent land-based tourism facilities and large-scale adventure or sporting events) show that there is a strong tendency to use “rational arguments” that do not reflect human-nature relationships; however, a closer look reveals that underneath these relatively neutral positions, substantially different human-nature attitudes appear to be hidden. These differences may not block consensus regarding general policy statements on Antarctic tourism, as these statements leave sufficient space for different interpretations; however, different attitudes towards nature may well constitute a hurdle in reaching consensus on concrete management issues. It is most likely that CPs with different human-nature relationships have different views on what the specific “values” of Antarctica are and how these values could best be protected, and, consequently, it is also most likely that these CPs have different opinions on what norms should be set in respect of specific tourism developments. This makes it understandable that the approach of the ATCM to focus strongly on (the desirability of) norm setting is not always successful. Underlining the explorative nature of this study, the authors would recommend further research on human-nature relationships in the Antarctic tourism context. More knowledge and consciousness of differences in human-nature attitudes might invite stakeholders to search for management solutions based on a greater understanding of each other’s convictions

Sustainable Tourism and Natural Resource Conservation in the Polar Regions: An Editorial

This editorial provides an introduction to the special issue of Resources on Sustainable Tourism and Natural Resource Conservation in the Polar Regions, which proceeds the fifth bi-annual conference of the International Polar Tourism Research Network (IPTRN). The conference and coinciding community workshop on tourism development were organized at the edge of the Arctic in the community of Raufarhöfn (pop. 160) in Northeast Iceland from 29 August to 2 September 2016