ism vessels, some with large passenger capacities and
without ice-strengthened hulls, such as the Golden River in Nepal.
Princess which has a capacity of 3700 persons, exceed-
Photo: Christian Lambrechts
ing the estimated peak in personnel based in all Ant-
arctic stations
5
.
The projected retreat of sea ice is likely to lead to an ex-
pansion of tourism activities, as more sites will become
accessible by sea and the season will lengthen. This,
in turn, is likely to increase the risk tourism presents
to the marine environment, as well as to terrestrial
ecosystems, as over 80 per cent of the tourists land
during their journeys. This will also present new chal-
lenges in maintaining the unique characteristics Ant- These changes are exacerbated by unsustainable natural
arctica presents for scientific monitoring and research resource management practices which lead, for exam-
on processes of global and regional importance. The ple, to substantial deforestation and overgrazing in most
growth in tourism has the potential to affect national watersheds
7,8
.
research programmes through increased demand for
services such as weather forecasting and search and Addressing these issues will require strategies and policies
rescue services. related to land-use and water management, for example:
Watershed management and protection: In most of
In order to address these challenges, a comprehensive the countries only 1-5 per cent of the watersheds are
regime on tourism should be developed, complemen- protected, leaving little in the way of natural buffers
tary to the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protec- against flash flooding.
tion to the Antarctic Treaty, which provides a regulatory Poverty alleviation and financial mechanisms to sup-
framework for human activities in Antarctica. port development of more sustainable grazing and
wood-cutting practices. In particular, improved house-
Himalayas Hindu Kush region: water supply and flood risk hold consumption patterns of firewood would increase
the resilience of watersheds to greater seasonal fluxes
Hundreds of millions of people are vulnerable to im- of water flows.
pacts from climate change in the mountain ranges and Development of alternative settlement opportunities for
lowlands surrounding the Tibetan Plateau, far into Cen- impoverished people who often settle in the available
tral Asia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China. As flatlands and low-lying urban areas exposed to floods.
discussed in Chapter 6B, projected changes in snowfall Assistance with transition to new economic bases for
and in glacier melt are expected to lead to major impacts livestock-based villages in dry mountain areas where
including increased flood risk and water shortages in less snowfall and reduced snow seasons may lead to
many parts of this huge and densely-populated region. loss of traditional grazing lands.
222 GLOBAL OUTLOOK FOR ICE AND SNOW