From D. J. DREWRY
I was somewhat surprised to find you suggesting in ‘Environmentalists
urge Britain to reject Antarctic Treaty’ (This Week, 19 May), that the British
Antarctic Survey had built ‘a hard airstrip through penguin colonies near
its Rothera base’. Readers will know that prior to the BAS signing a contract
to build an airstrip in support of its science programmes, a full and ‘Comprehensive
Environmental Evaluation’ was undertaken. This was circulated internationally
in draft for comment and published in September 1989. It is available from
BAS.
There are no penguin colonies in the vicinity of the airstrip. Indeed,
vertebrate fauna is very poorly represented even by Antarctic standards
at Rothera Point. Skuas are the most abundant breeding and non-breeding
bird, with 16 nests in 1989. Ironically, the skua population has benefited
from the presence of the base with a 36 per cent increase since 1976. There
are no traditional breeding areas for seals at the Point and only in October
1989 was a Weddell seal known to have pupped on the Point (well away from
the intended construction site), forced in by an unusual lack of sea ice
that winter.
BAS endorses fully the concerns of many organisations to care for and
conserve the environment of Antarctica. The total banning of all human activity
in this region as promulgated by some groups has to be seen against the
possibility of using the unique natural observatory conditions of Antarctica
to address questions of global relevance (like ozone depletion, background
levels of anthropogenic pollutants, climate change processes and effects).
The BAS is committed to a concerned, responsible and sensitive approach
to its research, minimising its impact on the Antarctic environment.
DJ Drewry, Director British Antarctic Survey Cambridge
Advertisement
