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Falklands Conservation |
From Falklands Conservation Newsletter 43, Stanley
November 1999
Tourism Impact Project
The dramatic increase from 4,738 cruise ship passengers in 1995-96 to 25,000 last summer season (and the 30,000 forecast for this summer) has prompted the Falkland Islands Development Corporation to fund a cruise ship tourism study which will be overseen by Falklands Conservation.
Most of the ships visiting the Falkland Islands belong to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO). This organisation was founded in 1991 to advocate, promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible private sector travel to the Antarctic. Although under Falklands law it is not obligatory for ships to adhere to the strict IAATO guidelines, the cruise ships tend to try and enforce the high standards as 'practice' for when they finally go further south. One of the problems is, however, that larger and larger cruise ships (some with over 1,000 passengers) are visiting the Falklands and these vessels are not members of IAATO. There are a number of destinations within the Island which only receive IAATO vessels, but on the other side of the coin there are some destinations (including Stanley) at which there are no behaviour guidelines or codes of practice set down.
Debbie Summers has been contracted to carry out the Project, the first phase of which will take the form of a six month research period ending in April 2000. The result will be a report detailing the findings, following observations of the way in which passengers are managed on IAATO affiliated vessels. She will spend the next six months travelling to the various cruise ship sites where IAATO guidelines are observed, shadowing the passenger management onshore, boarding the vessels to interview both passengers and crew, and attending the lectures and briefings given to the passengers, and working closely with the landowners involved.
Although early days, there are hopes for the project to be extended for a further two years to enable the development of site-specific guidelines and a booklet to ensure environmentally sensitive tourism - a fundamental requirements if we are to uphold FITBs advertising slogan 'Where Nature is Still in Charge'.
Recent Sightings
Fuegian Marine Otters or Sea Otters (Lutra felina) were introduced to the Falkland Islands in the early 1930s but there present status is unknown, although brief sightings and evidence of droppings in coastal habitats would suggest that a small population still exists (Strange 1992). The following was provided by KEMH locum doctor Anthony Edwards:
"Last night at Blue Beach Lodge, San Carlow, about 2040 hours, I wandered down to the shore below the Lodge. Behind me the near full moon and Venus beamed white and bright in the clear sky. The pale yellows of sunset before me reflected in the calm Bonners Bay waters. A few seabirds settled themselves for the evening.
Gazing right along the foreshore a movement caught my eye: a pair of bogs playing? They splash in and out of the water and use their forelimbs in play. Are they seals or dogs? No! They're otters! I'm instantly gripped by urgent excitement and sprint up the hill and behind the glowing yellow gorse bushes to get a closer look. Now they are halfway across the bay towards the airstrip headland. One of them sits up in the water like a periscope, looking about intently, then slides back. I gallop along the cliff-top sheep tracks to a 'corner' on the headland where I have a view clear across to Ajax Bay. To my added delight I here meet a pod of Commerson's Dolphins!
The otters take a few more breaths and they're gone. The v-ripples disappear, but somewhere set otters are at play. What a thrill!"
Of particular interest were two recent sightings of the Southern Painted Lady (Cynthia carye) butterfly. Two were seen by Richard White on Davis Street on 15 November and Conservation Officer Becky Ingham spotted one at Johnson Harbour settlement a day later. The normal range of these insects is along the high Andes, south from Colombia to Argentina and Chile. Ian Strange's Guide to the Wildlife of the Falkland Islands states that whilst sightings are not uncommon they are usually seen in the latter half of the summer and most likely fly over from South America with the assistance of the westerly winds. Strange adds 'alternatively, but less plausibly, there could be a small breeding population on the islands which migrates to South America in the winter'.
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Patron: HRH The Duke of York CVO ADC Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature | BirdLife International Representative |