Is Antarctica a country? The future of the least known continent in the world

(CNN) – Since the human being knows the existence of the Antarctica, wants to visit her.

It is the least visited and least populated continent in the world. At best, it is extremely difficult to get to. However, the lure of the unknown and the desire to set foot on all continents make travelers try to reach the South Pole.

Still, for the world’s obsessive analysts, Antarctica is difficult to classify. It’s not a country, so can it be crossed off the wish list? Who controls it? If you had a capital, where would it be? What would be the mother tongue?

A national flag for a place without a nation

These were some of the questions Evan Townsend asked himself when he signed up for the first of his two stays at McMurdo Station, the US base in Antarctica.

Townsend, an elementary school teacher in Boston, knew he had a strict luggage limit when going to Antarctica to work as a support staff: everyone has a limit of 38 kilos, he says, which has to include clothing, toiletries, medications, electronic devices and anything else you may want or need during your stay.

Since one of his duties would be to manage the arts and crafts room on the base, he wanted to bring some decorations, but he knew it had to be light. Townsend chose the Pride flag: it weighed almost nothing, but its significance was great.

One day, Townsend and some colleagues took the Pride flag outside and took photos of themselves to post on social media. The photos eventually became an international story, with many media outlets calling it the first Pride parade in Antarctica.

“That’s when I realized the power of flags,” says Townsend. “On the one hand, I am completely isolated at the end of the Earth. And on the other, I am part of this global community.”

Despite having no training in design, Townsend identifies as an old “flag nerd” and began toying with the idea of ​​creating one that represented Antarctica.

He opted for dark blue for the Antarctic Ocean waters and white for the landscape, with an isosceles triangle in the center to represent the frozen peaks of Antarctica.

“I wanted it to be a neutral flag, for sure,” says Townsend. “It’s a different design, it’s a different color, to make sure it’s not affiliated with any particular group or nationality. I wanted it to be something that had a lot of symbolism, but was simple enough that people could apply their own. perception of Antarctica and their own understanding of the continent to the flag “.

The flag project’s name, True South, also has its own meaning.

“‘True South’ literally means the direction to the geographic South Pole, as opposed to magnetic south that would lead to the magnetic South Pole,” explains Townsend. “It is intended to represent the shared goals and values ​​by which the Antarctic community can orient itself.”

And Townsend has no plans to register or own the copyright to the flag design, believing it should belong to everyone.

“The best flags are those that get their meaning and power from the people who fly them,” he adds.

Who is in charge here?

Townsend is just one of many people around the world who are fascinated by Antarctica, even though they can never visit and see the place for themselves.

What is it about the southernmost continent in the world that continues to fascinate people?

In a world more interconnected than ever, Antarctica remains one of the few places most people don’t know about.

There is no native population in the Antarctica, and human activity there is still relatively recent.

The only permanent facilities are a handful of science stations, employing only scientists and their support staff, a term that ranges from cooks and maintenance workers to electricians and airport managers.

It is common for people to multitask. Townsend worked in foodservice, as a waiter and as a craft hall manager during his stay. At its peak, the number of human residents in Antarctica is about 10,000.

In 1959, 12 countries (including Japan, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Argentina and the then USSR) signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington.

Among the points they agreed on was that Antarctica should be “used for peaceful purposes only” and that science would be at the forefront of any development or settlement there. Members of the military may be there, but only in support roles.

Although few people live there, Antarctica’s sphere of influence is huge. Climate change has caused the continent to shrink. And despite the existence of the Treaty, world politics have changed and new power actors (specifically, China) have emerged in Antarctica.

Klaus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics at the University of London, is the author of several books on polar regions, most recently “The Arctic: A Very Short Introduction”, published in June 2021.

“Things are still being taken out of Antarctica. Information, ice, resources like seals, whales and fish,” he says. “The fragility of Antarctica, I think, represents the fragility of the world in general.”

While climate change is the biggest influence on Antarctica, there is another important factor that will only increase as the pandemic subsides: tourism.

The future of the continent

About 90% of tourists who come to Antarctica do so Boat. These trips are expensive, and most travelers only spend a few hours on land before getting back on the boats and turning around.

Today, the United States is the largest source of Antarctic tourism, but China is rapidly climbing to second place, and Dodds believes it will top the list within a decade.

Some destinations, such as the Argentine resort city of Ushuaia and the Australian city of Hobart, make money from these tourists because of their location as final ports of call before Antarctica. Dodds predicts that in the next decade, numerous cruise companies will open Antarctic itineraries and more travel companies will invest in the continent’s infrastructure.

Just as countries vie for power with military bases and political maneuvers, Antarctica has become another place where their rivalries (and fears) unfold.

“No one can answer the question of who owns Antarctica,” says Dodds.