IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

ASOC presents information papers for Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts

31 March 2010 | News story

IUCN Member, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), has developed four papers ahead of the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts (ATME) on climate change and implications for Antarctic management and governance.

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is a global coalition of environmental groups, with members in 20 countries worldwide. It works to ensure that the Antarctic region survives as the world’s last unspoiled wilderness, a global commons and scientific reserve for the heritage of future generations. ASOC is the environmental observer to the Antarctica Treaty System.

ASOC has presented four information papers to the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts (ATME) on climate change and implications for Antarctic management and governance:

• Antarctic Krill Fisheries and Rapid Ecosystem Change: The Need for Adaptive Management
• The Future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: Observed and Predicted Changes, Tipping Points, and Policy Considerations
• Environmental and Economic Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Antarctica
• Antarctic Penguin Response to Habitat Change as Earth’s Troposphere reaches 2°c above Pre-Industrial Levels

The meeting will be held in Svolvær, Norway from 6 - 9 April 2010, and the following issues will be discussed:

1. Key scientific aspects of climate change
2. Key consequences of such change to the Antarctic marine and terrestrial environment
3. Implication of such consequences to management of Antarctic activities
4. The need for monitoring, scenario planning and risk assessment
5. Outcomes of the Copenhagen negotiations relevant for the Antarctic
6. The need for further consideration of any of the above issues and manners in which this can be achieved.

Access more information on the ATME website: http://atme2010.npolar.no/en/