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Veröffentlichung Environmental guidelines for operation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS): Experience from Antarctica(2019) Harris, Colin H.; Herata, Heike; Hertel, FritzRemotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), or drones, are increasingly being used in close proximity to wildlife. RPAS can disturb animals in their natural environment, potentially causing stress or harm. However, research on the potential impact of RPAS on wildlife is preliminary and remains poorly understood. RPAS offer many benefits for research applications and other purposes, and can also help reduce wildlife disturbance that might otherwise occur. The Antarctic Treaty Parties recognised a need to develop environmental guidelines for RPAS use as a means to help avoid and/or reduce disturbance to wildlife in Antarctica while allowing for their beneficial use. To do so, a framework based on the Pressure - State - Response model was developed to provide a systematic means to consider relevant influences on RPAS and wildlife interactions. This framework was used as an aid to draft comprehensive environmental guidelines for RPAS use in Antarctica, which were adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Parties in 2018. The guidelines include recommendations for pre-flight preparations, on-site and in-flight protocols, and for post-flight actions and reporting. The guidelines were based on examples developed elsewhere in the world, on available scientific evidence for environmental impacts from RPAS, and through consultation among governments and scientific and technical bodies operating in Antarctica. The environmental guidelines adopted for RPAS operations in Antarctica could provide a model for application elsewhere in the world where there is a need to manage interactions between RPAS and wildlife and to avoid or reduce potential impacts. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reservedVeröffentlichung Managing the effects of noise from ship traffic, seismic surveying and construction on marine mammals in Antarctica(2019) Erbe, Christine; Dähne, Michael; Gordon, Jonathan; Herata, Heike; Müller, MirjamThe Protocol on Environmental Protection of the Antarctic Treaty stipulates that the protection of the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems be considered in the planning and conducting of all activities in the Antarctic Treaty area. One of the key pollutants created by human activities in the Antarctic is noise, primarily caused by ship traffic (from tourism, fisheries, and research), but also by geophysical research (e.g., seismic surveys) and by research station support activities (including construction). Arguably, amongst the species most vulnerable to noise are marine mammals since they specialise in using sound for communication, navigation and foraging, and therefore have evolved the highest auditory sensitivity among marine organisms. Reported effects of noise on marine mammals in lower-latitude oceans include stress, behavioural changes such as avoidance, auditory masking, hearing threshold shifts, andâ€Ìin extreme casesâ€Ìdeath. Eight mysticete species, 10 odontocete species, and six pinniped species occur south of 60OS (i.e., in the Southern Ocean). For many of these, the Southern Ocean is a key area for foraging and reproduction. Yet, little is known about how these species are affected by noise. We review the current prevalence of anthropogenic noise and the distribution of marine mammals in the Southern Ocean, and the current research gaps that prevent us from accurately assessing noise impacts on Antarctic marine mammals. A questionnaire given to 29 international experts on marine mammals revealed a variety of research needs. Those that received the highest rankings were 1) improved data on abundance and distribution of Antarctic marine mammals, 2) hearing data for Antarctic marine mammals, in particular a mysticete audiogram, and 3) an assessment of the effectiveness of various noise mitigation options. The management need with the highest score was a refinement of noise exposure criteria. Environmental evaluations are a requirement before conducting activities in the Antarctic. Because of a lack of scientific data on impacts, requirements and noise thresholds often vary between countries that conduct these evaluations, leading to different standards across countries. Addressing the identified research needs will help to implement informed and reasonable thresholds for noise production in the Antarctic and help to protect the Antarctic environment. © 2019 Erbe, Dähne, Gordon, Herata, Houser, Koschinski, Leaper, McCauley, Miller, Müller, Murray, Oswald, Scholik-Schlomer, Schuster, van Opzeeland and JanikVeröffentlichung Berlin statement on legacy and emerging contaminants in polar regions(2023) Ebinghaus, Ralf; Barbaro, Elena; Nash, Susan Bengtson; Herata, Heike; Koschorreck, Jan; Küster, Anette; Rauert, CarenPolar 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 polar environments requires (i) raising political and public awareness and (ii) restricting and preventing global emissions of harmful chemicals at their sources. The Berlin Statement is the outcome of an international workshop with representatives of the European Commission, the Arctic Council, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), environmental specimen banks, and data centers, as well as scientists from various international research institutions. The statement addresses urgent chemical pollution issues in the polar regions and provides recommendations for improving screening, monitoring, risk assessment, research cooperation, and open data sharing to provide environmental policy makers and chemicals management decision-makers with relevant and reliable contaminant data to better protect the polar environments. The consensus reached at the workshop can be summarized in just two words: "Act now!" Specifically, "Act now!" to reduce the presence and impact of anthropogenic chemical pollution in polar regions by. -Establishing participatory co-development frameworks in a permanent multi-disciplinary platform for Arctic-Antarctic collaborations and establishing exchanges between the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) of the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AnMAP) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to increase the visibility and exchange of contaminant data and to support the development of harmonized monitoring programs. -Integrating environmental specimen banking, innovative screening approaches and archiving systems, to provide opportunities for improved assessment of contaminants to protect polar regions. © 2023 The Authors