xploration of the Antarctic continent, scientists and explorers were little aware of the potential environmental effects of their activities. Their principal concern was to preserve human life in the conduct of nationalistic exploration and the gathering of scientific data in this new, unchartered landscape. These earlier visits were at a time when the fragility and sensitivity of parts of the environment were simply not understood. Growing awareness of the potential for environmental harm has been slow to mature, and only highlights the need for a balanced review of the types of activities that can be carried out, their potential short and long term effects, and the need for continued reassessment of the issues by those committed to the preservation of this unique heritage, and its intrinsic scientific and cultural value.Considerable progress has been made over the last few decades in the development of environmental controls and management strategies for specific locations in Antarctica and for the Antarctic region as a whole. The most important of these within the Antarctic Treaty System has been the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection. The advent of the potential for conflict between the various scientific and cultural values and tourism has heightened the need to clearly define goals and priorities for the protection of the environment.It is this writers opinion that in the case of mutually exclusive goals, priority should be given to the need to protect the scientific integrity of the region. Protection of the scientific values of this region will serve to protect many other values. The conservation of landscape integrity for ongoing geomorphological studies would protect the aesthetic qualities of that landscape; conservation measures applied to protect the fragile biological communities will also protect the wilderness characteristics and values as an aesthetic resource. Priorities need to be defined that recognise the m...
