13 Oct 2016
TRACKING ANTARCTICA
This WWF report Tracking Antarctica provides a scientific update on the state of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and highlights recommended solutions.
WWF has produced the report in time for the 35th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart from 17 to 28 October 2016.
Tracking Antarctica references scientific reports which found:
- A third of Adélie penguin colonies in Antarctica could disappear by 2060 due to the impacts of climate change on food supply of krill and fish.
- The 50,000km2 Larsen C ice shelf - the fourth largest in Antarctica- is developing a rift 130km long.
- 596 out of 674 glaciers along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula have retreated since records began in the 1940s.
- Tourism is on the rise with 38,000 tourists travelling to Antarctica during 2015-16 season.
- People have introduced more than 200 plant species to subantarctic islands and parts of the Antarctic continent.
A WWF scorecard is contained in the report and shows the world needs to make significant progress on six out of eight actions to conserve Antarctica.
Read the report: Tracking in Antarctica Report (2016)