India is collaborating with other nations to promote controlled tourism in Antarctica, recognizing the region’s fragile environment. The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the Committee for Environmental Protection will discuss regulations relating to Antarctic tourism. The Ministry of Earth Sciences aims to make it easier for the general public to visit Indian research outposts in Antarctica. India maintains two operational research stations in Antarctica and pays between Rs 150 and Rs 200 crore annually to keep them operational. The number of tourists visiting Antarctica has increased significantly since the 1950s.
Understanding that a rising number of visitors represents a risk to Antarctica’s fragile environment, India is working with like-minded countries to promote controlled tourism there. The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the Committee for Environmental Protection meeting, which takes place in Kochi from May 20 to 30, will address the topic of controlling Antarctic tourism. These seminars are being hosted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, which hopes to make it easier for the general public to visit Indian research outposts in Antarctica.
India is collaborating with like-minded nations to support controlled tourism in Antarctica since the region’s delicate nature is in danger of being harmed by a continuous rise in visitor numbers. The Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) gathering in Kochi, Kerala, from May 20 to May 30, together with the Antarctic Treaty Consultative gathering (ATCM) will discuss regulations pertaining to tourism in Antarctica.
“The issue lies in the inadequate regulation of Antarctica tourism. Thus, in a conversation with PTI editors here, M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said that this year’s topic is on its regulation.
The 26th CEP conference and the 46th meeting of the ATCM, Antarctica’s highest governing body, are being hosted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
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Ravichandran also made hints about intentions to make it easier for the general people to visit Indian research outposts in Antarctica.
When asked if the average person may visit Indian research sites in Antarctica, he said, “Very soon, we will take it up.”
Ravichandran emphasized the need for regulation and the problems that uncontrolled tourism is now facing.
According to him, India and other nations that share similar views are aggressively encouraging controlled tourism in Antarctica.
“India should not conceivably open up everything; instead, it should support controlled tourism in Antarctica. We initiated this, and several other nations that share our values have also come together,”
Ravichandran
It is believed that the cost of travel to Antarctica for researchers traveling by ship from Goa to Cape Town, South Africa, and then to the White Continent, is Rs 1 crore per person.
According to Thamban Meloth, Director of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), India has two operational research stations in Antarctica, Maitri and Bharati, where researchers from several national institutions carry out year-round studies.
The government pays between Rs 150 and Rs 200 crore annually to keep the research outposts in Antarctica operational.
Ravichandran emphasized that India maintains its research stations in Antarctica with great care and that they are regularly inspected to make sure they remain immaculate.
He emphasized the stringent waste management regulations that are in place, such as the need to return all garbage, including human waste, to the mainland.
Notably, the yearly number of tourists traveling to Antarctica has been rising substantially over the last several years, with thousands of travelers passing via Argentina or Chile en route.
“There is a major working group in the ATCM and they will discuss and recommend to the Antarctic Treaty to have some criteria that a tourist needs to fulfill when visiting Antarctica,”
Ravichandran
Travelers started sneaking around Antarctica aboard supply ships in the 1950s, and since then, the number of visitors has risen significantly.
According to data from the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), 32,730 people came on cruises alone, 71,346 came on land, and 821 went on deep-field excursions during the 2022-17 season.
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