Ice-free zone gets special status
2004-06-02 13:25
Auckland - A vast ice-free area of Antarctica has been given a new status in a bid to protect it following lobbying by New Zealand and the United States, Antarctica New Zealand (ANZ) said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 15 000 square kilometre Dry Valleys will become the first "Antarctic Specially Managed Area".
The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting this week in Cape Town approved the Managed Areas status, including a comprehensive management plan.
A second area, proposed by Australia, has also been approved for a much smaller area at Cape Denison, south of Tasmania, where the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914), led by Douglas Mawson, was based.
ANZ chief executive Lou Sanson hailed the Dry Valleys decision.
"Achieving this special status for the Dry Valleys is the result of a very successful international collaboration".
Karl Erb, Director of the United States Antarctic Programme, said "the McMurdo Dry Valleys are a unique venue for research on subjects as diverse as the history of the earth and the adaptation of life to extreme environments".
The Dry Valleys, west of the New Zealand and US bases at McMurdo Sound, contains the largest expanse of ice-free ground in Antarctica.
The cold desert environment encompasses soils millions of years old, communities of unusual plants and microrganisms, special geological features and spectacular scenery.
The Dry Valleys are particularly sensitive to human disturbance with extremely slow recovery rates, meaning that footprints made in the 1950s in areas of low wind disturbance are still clearly visible today.
They are ice-free because the Transantarctic Mountains, which run along the western edge of the Ross Sea, block the Antarctic icesheet.
The new agreement will ensure that the scientific, wilderness, ecological, and aesthetic values of the Dry Valleys are protected.
Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty all territorial claims in Antarctica are suspended and the continent is managed by the treaty's current 45 signatory states.