The Antarctic continent is a place of pristine wilderness, uninhabited by humanity and home only to nature and some isolated scientific research stations. Antarctica is also a political oddity, as the lack of indigenous population means there is no local government. With tourism becoming a major feature of the Antarctic, the lack of a governing body means there are no set rules for tour operators to follow. From this regulatory void the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, or IAATO, was born. On a recent journey I took to the Antarctic, I learned more about this organization and what it does.
This group, formed by seven countries in the mid 1980's to create a set of standards for tourism, has become the de facto government for much of Antarctica. IAATO was formed under the auspices of the Antarctic Treaty, an agreement that the Antarctic would remain demilitarized, peaceful, and an example of international cooperation. The signatories of this agreement, however, were interested mainly in science and gave little thought to the tourist industry. The few rules focused on tourism were mainly restrictions, designed only to protect the scientific research.
The Antarctic Treaty was created specifically so that Antarctica would not have a government. Ratified in 1961, the treaty's stated purpose is, "to demilitarize Antarctica, to establish it as a zone free of nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste, and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes only; to promote international scientific cooperation in Antarctica; to set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty." This treaty has been astonishingly successful, growing from twelve initial signatories to over forty today. It is highly unlikely that any country would unilaterally decide to break the treaty, as nearly all the major powers are signers and any violation would provoke angry responses.
Tourism has become a massive industry in Antarctica, with over 20,000 people every year visiting the frozen continent. IAATO's stated purpose is to have standards that tour operators can use, to keep the continent unspoiled for future visitors. The tour operators take these standards very seriously. On a recent trip to the Antarctic, the expedition leader spoke with the tourists the first day aboard ship about IAATO rules that needed to be obeyed, making it clear that any violation would be a serious problem.
Dr. Julia Jabour, a lecturer at the University of Tasmania on Antarctic tourism and currently a guest lecturer onboard a vessel run by an IAATO member company, explained that enforcement of these rules is difficult. "IAATO is a voluntary membership organization," she said, "and tour operators are not required to be a member in order to work in the Antarctic." This fact makes it difficult for the group to enforce rule violations.
One of the rules that IAATO sets down is how close tourists are allowed to come to the local wildlife. Five meters is the rule for penguins, and I discovered why on my trip. The penguins happily waddle right up to humans if we sit still, but a human going up to the penguins alarms them and can even cause the creatures to flee. Should the penguins leave their nest, the waiting Skua birds will dive down and take the baby chicks. If this were to happen frequently, the penguins could be wiped out, all because of a human getting too close.
The only direct action that IAATO can take when a member group violates the rules is to downgrade the membership status of the violator. The violating company will then have to go through the entire process of becoming a full member again. This involves a substantial fee, and a year of probationary membership, during which an observer from IAATO will travel with the tour operator and make sure they are obeying the rules.
Should a tour operator violate IAATO rules, however, the likelihood is very high that they have also violated the Antarctic Treaty. Legally, IAATO has no ability to do anything other than report the offense. The flag country of the offender could prosecute the treaty violation. If, for example, an Australian company is the tour operator, and they violate the treaty, it is a matter for the Australian courts. Should the violation be on the part of the crew of the Russian flagged vessel carrying the tour group, the Russian court system would be responsible.
On my voyage, I had the opportunity to spend a night camping on the Antarctic Ice. There were specific rules set down by IAATO governing how close the sleeping bags could be to any wildlife or research stations, in addition to the obvious rules that specified which locations were allowed for camping. In the morning before leaving, IAATO rules specified that we break up the little sleeping holes we had dug, so that a passing penguin wouldn't fall in and break a leg.
With membership in IAATO voluntary, and a larger number of rules to follow, many tour operators might decide not to join the organization. However, membership brings with it a number of advantages. As members in IAATO, tour operators can say that they have met a certain standard, which is a major help in attracting customers. Members also gain access to opportunities that would otherwise not be available, such as traveling to research stations that will allow only IAATO members to visit, like the United Kingdom's Port Lockroy.
According to Dr. Jabour, there have been very few instances of tour operators violating the IAATO bylaws. Tour operators have a vested interest in seeing that the Antarctic remains as it is today. People travel to Antarctica because of its unchanging beauty, and the tour operators don't want to risk changing that.
The IAATO bylaws are written in such a way that they bear a remarkable similarity to the laws of any country. Indeed, as tourism is the only real industry in Antarctica, IAATO is largely functioning as a government for the Antarctic. However, the situation is much more complicated than it sounds.
There are twenty-four countries that have land claims in Antarctica. It is not always clear who claims what section of the continent, as there is no governing authority to arbitrate. For instance, Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom all claim the same plot of land on the Antarctic Peninsula. There is constant conflict among the three nations, both in terms of jurisdiction and the research stations. IAATO serves a general purpose of being a link between all the nations, and allowing a common set of rules for tourist activities to be in place. Because of this, the countries know that tourism is standardized, and therefore their time and energy can be spent on science rather than tourism.
There are a number of advantages for the tour organizations in the existence of IAATO. With one group standardizing the rules and regulations, the varying tour groups don't have to worry about different standards dependent on the specific tour that is occurring. For instance, with IAATO standardizing the rules for excursions, a tour organization knows that the rules for a landing are the same on the Weddell Sea as they are on the Ross Ice Shelf.
Additionally, having the umbrella organization of IAATO allows the tour organizations to pool their resources and encourage tourism to the Antarctic. IAATO also has safety and environmental regulations, reducing the concerns of the members of the Antarctic Treaty System.
There are, however, risks to having IAATO act with such overreaching authority. In this situation, it is truly a case of the fox guarding the henhouse. While IAATO does want to protect the environment of Antarctica, the first goal of the organization is to increase tourism. The tour operators are wary of having government oversight, as the regulations in a government run system could reduce the tourist trade. If a time ever comes when a decision has to be made between bringing tourists and protecting the environment, which way will IAATO fall? Dr. Jabour, who is an expert in Antarctic related international law, believes that the situation may never reach that point. She argues that while tourism does affect the Antarctic, the rest of the world affects the region equally. After all, the doctor says, pollution the world over causes the ozone hole, not just tourists in the region.
One of the major problems IAATO is facing today is the possibility of other tour groups attempting to begin operations in the Antarctic. There are many reasons why this is an unpopular idea among IAATO members, chief among them safety and crowding issues. Very few tour ships are equipped to handle the icy conditions in the Antarctic, and should there be a disaster of some kind, Antarctic tourism would likely be hurt as a result. Also, one of the pulls of the Antarctic to tourists is the solitary feeling, the impression that you are alone in a part of the world. Should large numbers of tourist vessels begin operations, it would be difficult to keep that sensation.
In the coming years, it is likely that the issue of what to do in Antarctica will become a pressing issue. Scientists believe that there is a large amount of oil buried in the continent, and the growing worries over energy sources makes it likely that a nation or a private concern will attempt to extract resources. This would, however, be an exceedingly difficult process due to the weather conditions, and not guaranteed to work. The Madrid Protocols, created by the Antarctic Treaty System in 1991, tenuously protect most of the continent, but in a time of crisis they would not be a huge protection. However, the difficulty in extracting resources and the long distance they would have to travel makes any oil in Antarctica a resource of last resort.
In coming years, the possibility of a private organization being the government of a nation-state is high. A third world country could 'sell out' to a corporation, or a space station or even a base on another planet could become a corporate entity. Cities underneath the ocean waves have already been planned. IAATO is a test case for this situation, both for governments and for companies the world over. While the Antarctic is hardly equivalent to any other location on Earth, there are still lessons that can be learned from these circumstances. What happens in the Antarctic in coming years is likely to be greatly influenced by IAATO. This organization, created to govern a place like no other, may choose the future of the ice bound continent, and possibly even lead to a new type of world government.