BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

52 BBC Wildlife April 2020

Talking

point

spoon-billedsandpipereggsandchicks,

aswellason-the-groundmonitoring.”

ClimatechangeintheArctichits

communitiesaswellaswildlife.For

example,belugas,whoselackofdorsal

finsenablesthemtoshelterunderice,are

moreeasilypredatedbyorcasasthesea-ice

retreats;changesintheirmovementsaffect

IndigenouspeoplesintheCanadianArctic

whotraditionallyhuntbelugaandseals.

And,ofcourse,thearrivalofincreasing

numbersoftouristsalsohasanimpact.

CommentingonCrystalSerenity’s 2016

cruise,a WWFArctic 2018 reportnotedthat:

“Whiletourismlikethisbringsincometo

someindigenouscommunities,it alsoexerts

a powerfultransformationalpressureallits

own.Attimes,theCrystalSerenitytourists

whowentashoreto visitIndigenousvillages

outnumberedtheInuitlivingtherebya factor

ofmorethantwoto one.Thesetemporary

invasionsawakenedfearsthattheshipwas

enabling a form of ‘extinction tourism’ –

“Peoplehastening

toseevanishing

ecosystemsare

acceleratingtheir

destructionin

the process.”

withbowheadwhales,grey

whales,wolverines.”This

areais muchharderto reach,

requiringa flightrightacross

Russia,sofarfewerpeople

visitand,at present,tourism

is strictlymanagedto protect

islandecology.“Onlyonegroup

is allowedto visitat a time,and

allvesselsareaccompaniedby

reserverangerswhosupervise

andmanagealllandings,”

reportsAaronRuss.

Russianauthoritieshave

statedanintentionto further

developtheArctic,including

tourism;participantsat a

recentmeetinginArkhangelsk

reportedlyagreedthat

thisdevelopmentmustbe

anthropocentric– human

interestsmustbeprioritised.

Andthat’sa pertinentpoint:

theArcticis farfromempty

ofhumans.“Fourmillionpeoplelivein

theregionandmaketheirlivingthere,”

saysEddaFalk.“Sotherewillbeeconomic

activityintheArctic.Expeditioncruisingcan

bea consideratewayofbringingvisitorsinto

theregionsotheycanexperienceit,without

theneedtobuildinfrastructureandmake

changesinthelandscape.If youdoit right,

youcandoit ina sustainableway.”

S

ustainabilitycomprisesvarious

elements.ManynewArctic-class

vesselsare‘greener’,increasing

fuelefficiency,andreducingcarbon

andotheremissions,disturbance

oftheseafloorat landingsights,andlight

andotherpollution.AECOco-ordinates

clean-upprogrammescollectingbeach

wasteinbothSvalbardandFranzJosef

Land.Manyoperatorsalsoenable

passengerstoparticipatein‘citizen

science’projects,andsupportimportant

conservation.“Weareactivepartnersof

severalresearchprogrammesinbothpolar

regionsinvariouscapacities,including

SeabirdWatch,PenguinLifelines,

HappywhaleandPolarBearsInternational,”

saysLyndseyLewis,QuarkExpeditions

operationsandsustainabilitymanager.

AndasAaronRussexplains,Heritage

Expeditionsaimstoboostthefortunesof

a CriticallyEndangeredbirdspecies:“Our

eight-yearrelationshipwiththeSpoon-billed

SandpiperTaskForceis a goodexampleof

howwesupportconservationorganisations

andreserveswevisit;weareactivelyinvolved

in providing transport for researchers and

peoplehasteningto seevanishing

ecosystemsandacceleratingtheir

destructionintheprocess.”

“Thecarryingcapacityis

differentindifferentplaces,”

saysJustinFrancis,founder

andCEOofResponsible

Travel.“Spitsbergenis well

setupfortourism,whichis

tightlyregulated,andwhere

manyresidentsareinvolved

intourismandresearch;it has

theinfrastructureto manage

relativelylargenumbers.

Smallerplaceswithindigenous

communities,forexamplein

Greenland,havea muchsmaller

capacity.Thekeyis to ensurethat

tourismcreatesbetterplacesto

livein,aswellasto visit.”

Severalcompaniessupport

communitiesintheArctic

directly,andfinanciallythrough

onboardauctions.“Wehave

programmesinplaceto delivergoodsand

suppliesto veryremotesettlements,”says

QuarkExpeditions’LyndseyLewis.“Our

passengersarealsoencouragedto purchase

handicraftsandsouvenirs,andstrongly

discouragedfrombuyingsuppliesfromlocal

storesbecause,evenif it doesinjectsmall

sumsofmoney,thesearerarelyreplenished

andreducethecommunity’sinventory.”

So,it couldbearguedthatArctictourism

canbedonesustainably– butasnumbersrise

andlargershipsproliferatehere,sustainability

maybetested.WhethertheArcticitselfcan

sustainitsnaturalandhumancommunities

infutureremainsto beseen– andtourism

mayplayonlya minorroleinthatoutcome.

“WhenI firstvisitedtheArctic,it never

rained– nowit rainsquiteoften,”observes

MarkCarwardine.“Andtemperatureshave

increased.I wouldn’tsaythere’slesswildlife

now– it’sjustharderto findbecauseit’sless

predictable.In30-oddyearsoftravellingto

suchplaces,veryrarelydoI gosomewhere

fora secondtimeandfind more wildlife

and fewer people.”

PAULBLOOMFIELDisa

writerandphotographer

specialisinginwildlife,

conservation, history and active travel.

WANTTOCOMMENT?

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andconsofArctictourism?

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