An international team of scientists from the United Kingdom and New Zealand has quantified the annual economic gains people derive from Antarctica and the adjacent Southern Ocean. The findings appear in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.
The frozen continent is estimated to contribute about 180 billion dollars to humanity each year. This total includes revenues from tourism at roughly 820 million dollars and fishing around 370 million dollars, but the bulk of the value comes from ecosystem services. These services include carbon uptake and storage, regulation of sea levels, and the reflection of solar energy. Together, these processes help stabilize the Earth’s climate and reduce future costs for societies.
Researchers caution that the region’s ecosystems will face global changes as the Southern Ocean warms and becomes more acidic. Such shifts are likely to diminish the benefits the Antarctic region provides.
To address these concerns, the scientists are urging an update to the Antarctic Treaty, which was adopted in 1959. At the time, climate threats were not a central consideration, and the treaty now needs revision to reflect current realities.
There is also growing concern among scientists about the rapid melt of Antarctica’s ice shelves, which underscores the urgency of reassessing governance and protection measures for this critical region.