Title |
Antarctica’s Protected Areas Are Inadequate, Unrepresentative, and at Risk
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLoS Biology, June 2014
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001888 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Justine D. Shaw, Aleks Terauds, Martin J. Riddle, Hugh P. Possingham, Steven L. Chown |
Abstract |
Antarctica is widely regarded as one of the planet's last true wildernesses, insulated from threat by its remoteness and declaration as a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science. However, rapidly growing human activity is accelerating threats to biodiversity. We determined how well the existing protected-area system represents terrestrial biodiversity and assessed the risk to protected areas from biological invasions, the region's most significant conservation threat. We found that Antarctica is one of the planet's least protected regions, with only 1.5% of its ice-free area formally designated as specially protected areas. Five of the distinct ice-free ecoregions have no specially designated areas for the protection of biodiversity. Every one of the 55 designated areas that protect Antarctica's biodiversity lies closer to sites of high human activity than expected by chance, and seven lie in high-risk areas for biological invasions. By any measure, including Aichi Target 11 under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Antarctic biodiversity is poorly protected by reserves, and those reserves are threatened. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Australia | 9 | 14% |
United States | 6 | 10% |
New Zealand | 5 | 8% |
United Kingdom | 4 | 6% |
Canada | 3 | 5% |
Belgium | 1 | 2% |
Portugal | 1 | 2% |
Argentina | 1 | 2% |
Japan | 1 | 2% |
Other | 10 | 16% |
Unknown | 22 | 35% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 45 | 71% |
Scientists | 16 | 25% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Italy | 2 | 1% |
New Zealand | 2 | 1% |
United States | 2 | 1% |
Belgium | 2 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Australia | 1 | <1% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
South Africa | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 134 | 92% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 30 | 21% |
Researcher | 29 | 20% |
Student > Bachelor | 13 | 9% |
Student > Master | 12 | 8% |
Other | 9 | 6% |
Other | 35 | 24% |
Unknown | 18 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 57 | 39% |
Environmental Science | 34 | 23% |
Social Sciences | 9 | 6% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 6 | 4% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 1% |
Other | 12 | 8% |
Unknown | 26 | 18% |