CNN
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It was only a matter of time before climate change and man-made pollution reached even the most isolated continent on earth. As the global temperature rises, The pristine landscape of Antarctica is already changing, and new research shows that most of the region’s plant and animal species – including its iconic penguins – are struggling.
The study published Thursday in the journal PLOS Biology discovered that 65% of Antarctica’s native species, emperor penguins among them, will probably disappear by the end of the century if the world continues its status quo and fails to control fossil fuel emissions that warm the planet.
The study also showed that current conservation efforts in Antarctica are not working on the rapidly changing continent. The researchers concluded that implementing an additional layer of cost-effective strategies, which they outlined in the study, could save up to 84% of Antarctica’s vulnerable biodiversity.
“Antarctica doesn’t really contribute to climate change; There aren’t a huge number of people living there, so the biggest threat to the continent comes from outside the continent,” Jasmine Lee, lead author of the study, told CNN. “We have global action on climate change, along with other local and regional conservation efforts, is badly needed to give Antarctic species the best chance of surviving into the future.”
Antarctica’s geographic isolation has long shielded the continent from the worsening effects of the climate crisis and other environmental disasters plaguing the rest of the world, such as Forest fires, floods and drought. Scientists have already observed significant changes in its northern counterpart, the Arctic, which is heats up four times faster than the rest of the planet.
But the impacts of climate change are only begins to emerge in Antarctica. Recent data, for example, suggests Antarctic sea ice is melting faster today than in previous decades.
Thursday’s study shows that the disappearance of sea ice threatens several species of seabirds, such as the emperor and Adele penguins, which depend on the ice from April to December to nest their young. If the ice melts earlier or freezes later in the season, due to rising temperatures, penguins find it difficult to complete their breeding cycle.
“These iconic species, like emperor penguins and Adélie penguins, are endangered and it is truly sad to think that Antarctica is one of the last great wilderness areas on the planet and human impacts are seen and felt there. “, said Lee. “It’s just incredibly sad to think that we could be driving these kinds of species to extinction.”
Human presence and activity is also increasing in the area. The study shows that scientific expeditions and infrastructure are growing, while the annual number of tourists has increased more than eight times since the 1990s.
A separate study earlier this year showed that the increase in human presence in the region was leading to greater snowmelt. Scientists have found that black carbon — the dark, dusty pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels — settles in places where people spend a lot of time. Even the tiniest amount of this pollutant can have a significant impact on melting.
While the threat to Antarctica’s species and its ecosystem is increasingly well documented, it’s not as widely understood among policymakers, Lee said. And finding the funds for conservation can be difficult.
But the study presents several measures that are in fact cost-effective, with an estimated cost of $1.92 billion over the next 83 years, or about $23 million per year – a fraction of the global economy.
These strategies include minimizing and managing human activity, transportation, and new infrastructure, as well as protecting native species while controlling non-native species and diseases that enter the area.
It also focuses on external policies, such as achieving broader international climate goals under the Paris Agreement 2015which aims to reduce the emissions responsible for global warming and to stop a sharp increase in global temperature.
“The benefits of doing something about climate change are good for human health, livelihoods and also the economy,” Lee said. “The incentive is there, but it’s just about finding that initial investment, and it just depends on priorities.”
Cassandra Brooks, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who has done extensive research on marine animals in Antarctica, said the study is “timely and important” in drawing attention to the critical threat to biodiversity. Antarctic.
“This study builds on previous work showing the urgency with which policymakers must act on climate change, if there is any chance of saving Antarctica’s biodiversity,” said Brooks, who does not is not involved in the study, to CNN. This “clearly shows that current conservation strategies are insufficient to do anything other than support biodiversity decline”.
The latest research comes days after negotiators at the UN biodiversity summit in Montreal reached a historic agreement to better protect the planet’s vital ecosystems, including committing to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030.
With the climate crisis now the most widespread threat to Antarctica’s biodiversity, Lee said there was a greater need than ever to influence global policy to save one of Earth’s vast pristine biomes.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Lee said. “We are at this watershed moment not just for Antarctica but globally, as far as climate is concerned. We have the opportunity to stop it and if we don’t do something now the impacts will be good, good. worse than they could be.
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