The Environment Office coordinates and monitors environmental activities on BAS stations and ships and at its headquarters in Cambridge to ensure minimum environmental impact.
The day-to-day responsibility for environmental and waste management in the Antarctic lies with the Station Leaders, Ship Captains and Lead Field Guides, but Environment Office staff spend at least part of each summer field season in the Antarctic undertaking environmental inspections or audits of BAS research stations and vessels, as well as leading environmental projects, such as the clean-up of abandoned facilities.
20 November, 2023
Last month, October 2023, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was confirmed on Bird Island, South Georgia in the brown skua populations. Since then, a number of other cases of symptomatic …
13 January, 2020
A new study identifies the non-native species most likely to ‘invade’ the Antarctic Peninsula region over the next decade. It provides a baseline for all operators in the region to …
4 October, 2016
Celebrating 25 years of environmental protection in Antarctica
31 May, 2016
International declaration marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
13 July, 2012
Challenges facing the future of Antarctica A century ago, Antarctica was one of Earth’s last frontiers, but now the continent is under threat from human activity. An international team of …
25 January, 2023 by David Wilkins
Here at British Antarctic Survey, we recently opened our doors to over 40 companies in science, technology, and green innovation to help us make the next steps in reaching net …
1 March, 2024 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
This paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic affected science and tourism activities and their governance in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean. The pandemic reduced the ability of Antarctic Treaty Parties…Read more on How the COVID-19 pandemic signaled the demise of Antarctic exceptionalism
1 February, 2024 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
The small ice-free areas of Antarctica are essential locations for both biodiversity and scientific research but are subject to considerable and expanding human impacts, resulting primarily from station-based research and…Read more on Systematic conservation planning for Antarctic research stations
15 December, 2023 by Claire Boyle, Kevin Hughes, Laura Gerrish, Peter Convey, Steve Colwell
Antarctica has been subject to widespread, long-term and on-going human activity since the establishment of permanent research stations became common in the 1950s. Equipment may become intentionally or inadvertently lost…1 December, 2023 by Claire Waluda, Kevin Hughes
Communication at the science-policy interface can be bewildering not only for early-career researchers, but also for many within the research community. In the context of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean,…1 October, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty System’s Environmental Protocol are committed to preventing incursions of non-native species into Antarctica, but systematic surveillance is rare. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods provide new opportunities…11 August, 2023 by Kevin Hughes
Non-native species introductions and establishment are having substantial and likely irreversible environmental impacts on Antarctic ecosystems and biodiversity. Non-native species, or species that live outside of their natural range, can…8 August, 2023 by Caroline Holmes, Jeremy Wilkinson, Kevin Hughes, Michael Meredith, Peter Convey, Thomas Bracegirdle
There is increasing evidence that fossil-fuel burning, and consequential global heating of 1.1°C to date, has led to the increased occurrence and severity of extreme environmental events. It is well…3 August, 2023 by Beverley Ager, Rumeysa Uzun, Feride Karatekin, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica is a continent dedicated to ‘peace and science’ and subject to international consensus-based governance through the Antarctic Treaty System. Through the Treaty, decision-making powers are reserved to Consultative Parties,…Read more on The emerging contribution of Türkiye to Antarctic science and policy
1 June, 2023 by Kevin Hughes
Polar regions should be given greater consideration with respect to the monitoring, risk assessment, and management of potentially harmful chemicals, consistent with requirements of the precautionary principle. Protecting the vulnerable…Read more on Berlin statement on legacy and emerging contaminants in polar regions
17 April, 2023 by Huw Griffiths, Kevin Hughes, Lloyd Peck, Peter Convey
Incomplete species inventories for Antarctica represent a key challenge for comprehensive ecological research and conservation in the region. Additionally, data required to understand population dynamics, rates of evolution, spatial ranges,…1 April, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Protection of Antarctica's biodiversity and ecosystem values is enshrined in the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which provides for the designation of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs)…Read more on The need for increased protection of Antarctica’s inland waters
24 February, 2023 by David Barnes, Jonathan Shanklin, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Invasive non-native species (INNS) are recognized as a major threat to island biodiversity, ecosystems, and economies globally. Preventing high-risk INNS from being introduced is the most cost-effective way to avoid…1 February, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Intensive human exploitation of the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) in its primary population centre on sub-Antarctic South Georgia, as well as on other sub-Antarctic islands and parts of the…16 January, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey, Rachel Cavanagh
Climate change is increasingly affecting Antarctica and the rest of the world. Urgent policy responses are needed to mitigate its associated impacts. Engagement of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM),…4 January, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity is simple compared with other regions of the Earth, with many higher taxonomic groups not represented owing to the continent’s isolation, the severe climatic conditions and the…22 December, 2022 by Elisabeth Biersma, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity faces multiple threats, from invasive species to climate change. Yet no large-scale assessments of threat management strategies exist. Applying a structured participatory approach, we demonstrate that existing…Read more on Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity
8 December, 2022 by Jasmine Lee, Kevin Hughes
Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments are facing increasing pressure from multiple threats. The Antarctic Treaty System regularly looks to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) for the provision of…6 May, 2022 by Kevin Hughes, Kudzai Hwengwere, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
Although the rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in relation to clinical settings, is causing concern in many regions of the globe, remote, extreme environments, such as Antarctica, are…Read more on Antimicrobial resistance in Antarctica: is it still a pristine environment?
1 October, 2021 by John Turner, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica is increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts, with the continent predicted to warm by ∼4 °C by 2100 under a ‘business as usual’ greenhouse gas emission scenario. Simultaneously, human…
