Documents

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment to Working Paper 13 (WP013)

ATT011 to WP013: Antarctica and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (Image)

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 21 to Background Paper 1 (BP001)

ATT021 to BP001: Best Practice for Minimising Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Disturbance to Wildlife in Biological Field Research

Hodgson, Jarrod C. and Koh, Lian Pin, 2016. Correspondence – Best Practice for Minimising Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Disturbance to Wildlife in Biological Field Research. Current Biology 26, R387–R407.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 24 to Working Paper 29 (WP029)

ATT024 to WP029: Antarctic Biogeography Revisited: Updating the Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions

Terauds, Aleks and Lee, Jasmine R., 2016. Antarctic biogeography revisited: updating the Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions. Diversity and Distributions, 1–5.

Abstract:

The Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions (ACBRs), originally pro- posed in 2012, are now established as an important tool in Antarctic science, conservation, management and policy. Here, we provide a revised version of the ACBRs, reflecting updates in underlying spatial layers, together with the results of new analyses justifying the inclusion of a 16th bioregion. This updated version now covers all ice-free areas of Antarctica and is publicly avail- able through the Australian Antarctic Data Centre. In light of the interest in the ACBRs across a variety of research fields, we also provide a new set of sum- mary statistics for the updated spatial layer, including landscape metrics, cli- mate data, protected area coverage and an overview of human activity. The updated ACBRs represent a contemporary, practical and evidence-based foun- dation for understanding, conserving and managing Antarctic biodiversity at a continental scale.

Keywords: Antarctic biodiversity, Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions, biogeo- graphical zones, conservation planning, multivariate analyses, spatial ecology.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 41 to Information Paper 69 (IP069)

ATT041 to IP069: Attachment A – Mapping SCAR Research to the CEPs Climate Change Response Work Programme

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 44 to Information Paper 161 (IP161)

ATT044 to IP161: Selected Slides from 2017 SCAR Lecture

Tim Naish

The lecture text, lecture slides and associated Background Paper 20 (BP020) are also available.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 52 to Working Paper 17 (WP017)

ATT052 to WP017: SCAR’s Code of Conduct for the Exploration and Research of Subglacial Aquatic Environments

Summary:

This attachment contains the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Code of Conduct (CoC) that provides guidance to the scientific community with interests in exploring and conducting research on and in Antarctic subglacial aquatic environments (SAE).

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Attachment 53 to Working Paper 18 (WP018)

ATT053 to WP018: SCAR’s Environmental Code of Conduct for Terrestrial Scientific Field Research in Antarctica

Submitted: 06/04/2017

Summary:

This attachment contains the SCAR Environmental Code of Conduct that provides guidance for scientists undertaking terrestrial scientific field research in Antarctica.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Background Paper

BP001: Best Practice for Minimising Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Disturbance to Wildlife in Biological Field Research

Submitted: 06/04/2017

Summary:

The increasing use and utility of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which are now preferably known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), across the globe, including in Antarctic, brings corresponding challenges to their management. The CEP has recognised on several occasions the need for more information to inform guidelines on RPAS use around wildlife in Antarctica, including a request for SCAR to present a summary of the current state of knowledge regarding wildlife responses to RPAS (see WP 20). Best practice guidelines for minimising RPAS disturbance to wildlife have been developed and published (see Attachment A) and should be considered in Antarctic biological field research. This paper also gives the best practice guidelines presented in the peer-reviewed article by Hodgson and Koh (2016).

Attachment: Hodgson and Koh article (ATT021)

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Background Paper

BP020: What Does the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement Mean for Antarctica?

Submitted: 21/04/2017

Summary:

This presentation to the XL ATCM will outline the implications of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement for Antarctica. It will briefly examine the relationship between the ATS, its agreements and SCAR and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The consequences for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean of 1.5°C, 2°C, and more than 2°C of global warming are presented based on the latest international science, much of which has been conducted under the auspices of SCAR’s strategic research programmes. However, the presentation will primarily focus on one of the biggest uncertainties in policy-relevant climate science, which was highlighted in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report in 2013. This is, “how fast and how much will Antarctic ice mass loss contribute to global sea-level rise (SLR) over the coming century and beyond, and will achieving the target of the Paris Climate Agreement mitigate significant global SLR?” Impacts and avoided impacts for the Antarctic environment, the ATS and its activities, and the rest of the world are addressed.

See also Information Paper 161 (IP161), with Attachment 44 (ATT044), and Background Paper 20 (BP020). The lecture slides and lecture text from the SCAR lecture are also available. 

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP014: Antarctic Environments Portal: Content Management Plan (with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and the United States)

Submitted: 06/04/2017

Summary:

The Antarctic Environments Portal continues to provide the CEP and Antarctic Treaty Parties with a reliable source of information on issues of policy and management relevance. A Content Management Plan for the Portal has been developed and is appended to this Information Paper. The content management plan aims to provide a more structured approach to developing articles for the Portal and for facilitating a dialogue with the CEP with regard to the articles published on the Portal website.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP015: Antarctic Biogeography Revisited: Updating the Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions (with Australia and New Zealand)

Submitted: 06/04/2017

Summary:

This paper summarises the attached publication by Terauds and Lee (2016), which presents a revised and extended analyses of the spatial distribution of Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity. The revision incorporated the most recent spatial data representing Antarctic ice-free areas, and identified an additional biologically distinct (16th) Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Region (ACBR). Summary statistics generated by Terauds and Lee (2016) for the updated ACBRs (ACBRs Version 2) set of bioregions are reproduced.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP024: Future Challenges in Southern Ocean Ecology Research: Another Outcome of the 1st SCAR Horizon Scan (with Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Netherlands, SCAR, United Kingdom and the United States)

Submitted: 06/04/2017

Summary:

The 1st SCAR Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan aimed to identify the most important scientific questions in and about the Antarctic that should be addressed over the next two decades and beyond. This information paper reports another output of this initiative, focused on high-interest research areas related specifically to Southern Ocean life and ecology that, although not all retained as the top priorities among the addressed scientific domains, are of considerable relevance to the biology and ecology of the Southern Ocean.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP035: The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Annual Report 2016 – 2017 to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XL

Submitted: 17/04/2017

Summary:

This paper presents the annual report of The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. For ease of consideration, the main features of the report are presented as an infographic.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP069: Mapping SCAR Affiliated Research to the CEP’s Climate Change Response Work Programme (CCRWP)

Submitted: 20/04/2017

Summary:

In response to a request from the Committee at CEP XIX, SCAR conducted a review of recent, current and developing research of relevance to the CEPs Climate Change Response Work Programme (CCRWP) over the 2016-17 intersessional period. Eighteen SCAR affiliated and subsidiary groups provided information on research that is aligned with the climate change related issues identified in the CCRWP. All main elements of the CCRWP were covered by SCAR affiliated research, ranging across most disciplines, including the physical, biological and social sciences. This overlap suggests that there is significant potential for SCAR groups to contribute substantially to key areas outlined in the CCRWP. Clear and timely communication between the CEP and SCAR on the priorities and objectives of the CCRWP will maximise the likelihood of this potential being realised to the fullest extent possible.

See also Attachment 41 (ATT041)

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP080: Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment – 2017 Update

Submitted: 21/04/2017

Summary:

This paper presents an update on the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Report (2009 initial publication and 2013 update), providing an overview of recent science. The update is not meant to be read as a synthesis report, but as a perspective on recent scientific advances.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP081: Report of Oceanites, Inc.

Submitted: 21/04/2017

Summary:

This Information Paper describes activities of Oceanites, Inc. since ATCM XXXIX, including: results from the latest, 23rd consecutive field season of the Antarctic Site Inventory; recent scientific papers; update on Oceanites’ Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics; update on Oceanites’ climate challenge analyses and penguin conservation efforts; and the inaugural State Of Antarctic Penguins report.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP117: The Antarctic Observing Network (AntON) to Facilitate Weather and Climate Information: an Update (with WMO)

Submitted: 21/04/2017

Summary:

This paper provides an update on the Antarctic Observing Network (AntON).

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP161: What does the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement mean for Antarctica?

SCAR Science Lecture

by Tim Naish

Submitted: 28/04/2017

Summary:

The SCAR Science presentation to XL ATCM will outline the implications of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement for Antarctica. Key issues addressed are:

• The relationship between the ATS, its agreements and SCAR and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The consequences for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean of 1.5°C, 2°C, and more than 2°C of global warming are presented based on the latest international science, much of which has been conducted under the auspices of SCAR’s strategic research programmes.
• The poorly understood, and potentially underestimated, contribution of Antarctic ice loss to future global sea-level rise (SLR) is a major uncertainty in policy-relevant climate science. This was highlighted in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report in 2013. Advances in understanding since 2013 will be presented in the context of future climate pathways where 2°C of global warming is achieved, or alternatively, not achieved.
• Understanding the impacts and avoided impacts of achieving the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, for ATS members, their activities, and implications for the rest of the world is a key Future Science Challenge identified by SCAR and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP) addressed in ACTM XL Working Group 2 agenda item 15a (see Background Paper 20).

See also selected slides in Attachment 44 (ATT044) 

The lecture text, lecture slides and associated Background Paper 20 (BP020) are also available.

ATCM XL and CEP XX 2017, Beijing, China

Information Paper

IP166: Systematic Conservation Plan for the Antarctic Peninsula (with IAATO)

Submitted: 09/05/2017

Summary:

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the International Association for Antarctica Tour Operators have just agreed to undertake a collaborative effort to develop a systematic conservation plan for the Antarctic Peninsula, particularly with a view to managing the long-term sustainability of Antarctic tourism.