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Antarctica's Rich Resources
Antarctica is the coldest, driest, highest, windiest, most inaccessible and
inhospitable area of the earth's surface. Although it covers one-tenth of
the worlds land surface, as large as China, Argentina, France. Nigeria
and New Zealand combined, the only people on this harsh continent are
scientists and the occasional explorers.
Seals and penguins, the only wildlife, inhabit the pack-ice and beaches.
Mites. springtails, lice and midges are the main fauna. The only plants are
fungi, algae, lichens and mosses.
Shoals of' krill, perhaps enough to double the world's fish catch, whales
(mostly blue, humpback and fin species) and fish abound in the Antarctic
seas.
And by geological analogy, scientists believe that there is a very
substantial amount of mineral resources, including gas and oil. Estimates
made by the United States Geological Survey several years ago suggest
an offshore recoverable resource of 15 billion barrels. Coal and iron ore
are also present for exploitation beneath the large repository of ice.
The total volume of ice in Antarctica is 30 million cubic kilometres.
about 70 per cent of the world's store of fresh water and 90 per cent of the
world's ice. If it all melted, the world's oceans would rise between 45 and
90 metres.
Such is the intriguing promise of unexplored wealth on this continental
land mass, which, when developed, may relieve the world's food shortage
and energy crisis.
But Antarctica is not a no-man's-land. For a very long time, this
continent has been a sphere of political activity. Several superpowers
have, through forethought and initiative, developed substantial vested
interests in its future. Today, as Antarctica's mineral wealth becomes
technically and economically realizable, the interest of the international
community is gradually being aroused.
The wealth of resources in this continent is suddenly seen to be an international problem, and world politicians, practised in the art of perceiving
gargantuan legal and political issues involved in any new undertaking,
are thinking: What should be the future of Antarctica ? It is not a burning
question yet, say Antarctica watchers, but will be so in probably two
decades from now, when the Antarctica potential resources are open for
profitable exploitation.
But before considering the sharing of the "goodies" in Antarctica, it
will be necessary to evaluate the benefits that may be won against the
risks and the dangers to the highly vulnerable environment and the legal
and political issues and problems at hand.
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