Introduction
Over three quarters of the Earth's land surface has been directly influenced by human activities and the global extent of natural and wilderness areas is likely to continue to decline in the 21st century (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency 2010; Sanderson and others Reference Sanderson, Jaiteh and Levy2002). Large contiguous wilderness areas with little impact from human activities are now a global rarity. Wilderness is a natural resource that is valued by many people, appreciated for its ecological, economic, psychospiritual and other benefits; at the same time, societies vary in how they value and perceive wilderness as a resource (Callicott and Nelson Reference Callicott and Nelson1998; Cordell and others Reference Cordell, Bergstrom and Bowker2005; Sæþórsdóttir and Saarinen Reference Sæþórsdóttir and Saarinen2016).
Antarctica has no indigenous population and is collectively managed by the governments of the 29 consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty (ATCPs). The treaty Area encompasses the region south of 60°S. This is 14 million km2 of ice-covered land and 20 million km2 of ocean, making up one-sixth of the Earth's total surface (McGonigal and Woodsworth Reference McGonigal and Woodworth2003). The ATCPs have frequently stated their intention to manage Antarctica ‘in the interest of all mankind’, beginning with the original 1959 Antarctic Treaty (see Preamble) and repeated in the Preamble of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic (Environmental Protocol) and in various recommendations and declarations (Bastmeijer and Tin, Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015; Tin and others, Reference Tin, Bastmeijer, O'Reilly, Watson, Murrieta–Saldivar and McBride2011). In addition, article 3(1) of the Environmental Protocol provides a provision for wilderness protection:
The protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and the intrinsic value of Antarctica, including its wilderness and aesthetic values and its value as an area for the conduct of scientific research, in particular research essential to understanding the global environment, shall be fundamental considerations in the planning and conduct of all activities in the Antarctic Treaty area.
Although Antarctica has been designated as a ‘natural reserve devoted to peace and science’, key phrases within the Environmental Protocol such as ‘interest of all mankind’ and ‘wilderness and aesthetic values’ have not been defined and are subject to interpretation. To this day, wilderness has remained a nebulous and subjective or philosophical value (Jabour Reference Jabour, Liggett and Hemmings2013; Bastmeijer Reference Bastmeijer, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Leary2009). While designated as a natural reserve, the Treaty area has rarely been managed as a protected area (Bastmeijer and van Hengel Reference Bastmeijer and van Hengel2009). Most human activities are limited and regulated only in Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs). A total of 73 ASPAs cover 688 km2, or less than 0.005% of Antarctica's terrestrial area (Shaw and others Reference Shaw, Terauds and Riddle2014; Terauds and others Reference Terauds, Chown and Morgan2012). Areas outside ASPAs are considered to be open for most human activities; non-use is seldom accepted as a viable choice of action (Bastmeijer and Tin Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015), allowing the human footprint to expand, extending into areas that have hitherto rarely been visited (Tin and Summerson Reference Tin and Summerson2013; Hughes and others Reference Hughes, Fretwell and Rae2011). Shaw and others (Reference Shaw, Terauds and Riddle2014: 3) concluded that the ‘apparent protection status [of the Treaty area] reflects management intent, not management outcome.’
In 2007, researchers in Europe and North America initiated a study to understand better the link between ATCPs' claim to manage Antarctica in the interest of humankind and humankind's views of Antarctica as a wilderness. The objective of the Consortium for Research on the Wilderness Values of Antarctica (AntWILD) is to gain a better understanding of public perceptions of the Antarctic wilderness, proceeding from the assumptions that: (i) ATCPs' claim to manage Antarctica in the interest of mankind obliges parties to take note of the interests and views of stakeholders outside the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), and (ii) views of the general public with regards to Antarctica are taken into account in the decision making process of the ATCPs.
A more detailed account and explanation of ATCPs' claim to manage Antarctica in the interest of mankind and of the assumptions of the AntWILD study can be found in Tin and others (Reference Tin, Bastmeijer, O'Reilly, Watson, Murrieta–Saldivar and McBride2011) and Bastmeijer and Tin (Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015). AntWILD has since reported its findings on the perceptions of a Dutch community (Tin and others Reference Tin, Bastmeijer, O'Reilly, Watson, Murrieta–Saldivar and McBride2011), future scenarios for the Antarctic wilderness (Neufeld and others Reference Neufeld, O'Reilly, Summerson, Tin, Tin, Liggett, Maher and Lamers2014) and the coexistence of wilderness and science (Bastmeijer and Tin Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015). The present study expands on an earlier analysis conducted by Peden and others (Reference Peden, Tin, Benayas, Watson, Carver, Krenova and McBride2015), and explores whether perceptions of the Antarctic environment varied between students at two comparably sized public universities in Spain and the United States. The following research questions were addressed: (1) Do university students’ values about the importance of Antarctic vary based on nationality? (2) Do university students’ beliefs about current management practices in Antarctica vary based on nationality? (3) Does university students’ support for management practices, including protection as a wilderness reserve, vary based on nationality? (4) Are there other factors that could explain any apparent differences in university students’ values, beliefs and attitudes about the Antarctic environment?
Background
Allen and others (Reference Allen, Wickwar and Clark2009) noted that there is increasing demand for the integration of public participation and the use of social science data in environmental decision-making. They argue that an understanding of stakeholders’ values, beliefs, and attitudes is critical for establishing or refining policy, developing programme goals, mitigating conflict, and effectively implementing management strategies. Following Allen and others, we use the term ‘values’ to refer to what people consider important. In our context, this specifically refers to the importance of Antarctica and the importance of the human-nature relationship seen through the eyes of the respondents. We use the term ‘beliefs’ to refer to people's ideas about what is true. In this study, this refers specifically to the presence or absence of human activities that are taking place in Antarctica. We use the term ‘attitudes’ to refer to favourable or unfavourable reactions to specific situations. In our context, this refers to respondents’ support or lack thereof for certain human activities in Antarctica.
University students from Spain and USA exhibit many similarities, yet provide contrasts in terms of their nations’ involvement in Antarctica and wilderness preservation in general. In both countries, university students are in the same age group of 18–25, with the majority beginning their undergraduate studies around the age of 18–19. Undergraduate courses in both countries take, on average, four to five years. Studies have demonstrated that young people in both countries go through emerging adulthood; a developmental period extending from the teens into the twenties in which many engage in intense self-focus, contemplation about the realm of future possibilities, and identity exploration in the domains of love, work and world views (Arnett Reference Arnett2004; Buhl and Lanz Reference Buhl and Lanz2007; Douglass Reference Douglass2007). Emerging adults’ values, attitudes and beliefs will have far-reaching influence on society and conservation over the next four or more decades, as they shape the world through their choices of government, consumption habits, jobs and lifestyles. Although they have received little attention in the literature on wilderness, today's emerging adults appear to participate less in wilderness-based recreation when compared to previous generations (Potts Reference Potts2007; Watson Reference Watson2013; Zinn and Graefe Reference Zinn and Graefe2007). Many emerging adults in the US are well integrated within the mass consumerism culture and are not concerned about associated environmental impacts or social injustice (Smith and others Reference Smith, Christofferson and Davison2011).
University students from Spain and USA come from different cultural backgrounds. The official language of Spain is Castilian Spanish and the most common language used in the USA is American English. The English word ‘wilderness’ is believed to have descended from the old English word ‘wild-dēor-ness’, meaning the place of the wild beasts (Nash Reference Nash2001: 2), while there is no direct equivalent in Spanish. USA was the first country to establish legislation specifically designed to protect publicly owned land as wilderness. Spain does not have national provisions to designate wilderness areas, although as a member state of the European Union, it is encouraged to designate and protect wilderness areas (European Parliament 2009; Kormos Reference Kormos2008). The US National Wilderness Preservation System alone protects an area nearly the size of the whole of Spain. There are also big differences in the two countries’ involvement with Antarctica. USA has one of the largest science and logistics programmes in Antarctica. It maintains three year-round research stations, including the largest station in Antarctica (COMNAP 2014), and is one of the original signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. While it had not claimed any territory in Antarctica by the signing of the Treaty in 1959, it reserved its right to claim territory at a later date. Spain became an ATCP in 1988 and maintains two summer-only research stations. USA is one of the ATCPs that is most active in submitting papers and influencing discussions at meetings while Spain is among one of the least active until recent years, reflecting the different levels of interest and priority that each country gives to Antarctica (Dudeney and Walton Reference Dudeney and Walton2012).
Literature review
The vast majority of the world's population has not been to Antarctica and studies indicate that the continent holds little immediate relevance in their everyday lives. Based on a survey of 1000 young people aged between 15 and 25 years old in two Argentine cities, Del Acebo Ibáñez and Costa (Reference Del Acebo Ibáñez and Costa2010) reported that many of their respondents held attitudes of indifference and scepticism towards Antarctica. Similarly, Salazar (Reference Salazar, Liggett and Hemmings2013) found that members of the public in Chile were not well informed on specific Antarctic issues. However, Shabudin and others (Reference Shabudin, Rahim and Nor2016) found that many young people in Malaysia were interested to travel to Antarctica and supported Malaysia's involvement in Antarctic scientific research. In New Zealand, the majority of respondents to an online survey agreed that Antarctica was important to them. Yet, New Zealanders under 34 years old were likely to see less importance in Antarctica and in their government's involvement there (Colmar Brunton Reference Brunton2011).
Tin and others (Reference Tin, Bastmeijer, O'Reilly, Watson, Murrieta–Saldivar and McBride2011) collected 269 survey responses from inhabitants in the Tilburg area of the Netherlands between March 2007 and June 2008. Respondents were between the ages of 15 and 91. They perceived wilderness as a place where ‘nature goes its own path without human intervention.’ Many respondents replied that ‘as little [human activity] as possible’ should take place in wilderness, and that use should be restricted to ‘activities that add value and have only minimal impact.’ They indicated that protecting the wilderness values of Antarctica, as mandated under the Environmental Protocol, means ensuring that Antarctica is preserved in its original condition.
The questionnaire used in the Netherlands was adapted into an ethnographic interview and used in California, USA in March 2008 (Neufeld and others Reference Neufeld, O'Reilly, Summerson, Tin, Tin, Liggett, Maher and Lamers2014). Respondents were residents in the Santa Cruz area, aged between 18 and 69. Most respondents agreed that wilderness is a place that is not destroyed by humans and that should be preserved. They were in favour of protecting Antarctica but not vague ‘values’. The phrase ‘protecting the wilderness values of Antarctica’, as mandated under the Protocol, was met with suspicion. Respondents called the phrase ‘a scam’, ‘an empty slogan’, ‘illogical’. In general, many respondents thought of Antarctica in an abstract way; a place that exists but didn't affect their daily lives.
In 2013, 227 questionnaires were collected randomly from the student body of Tilburg University in the Netherlands (Bastmeijer and Tin Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015). Respondents valued Antarctica as: (i) an important component of the earth's climate system, (ii) one of the world's last great wildernesses, and (iii) a science laboratory for the benefit of mankind. These three values were chosen by 50%–500% more respondents than the values of Antarctica as a tourist destination or a reserve of mineral resources.
Peden and others (Reference Peden, Tin, Benayas, Watson, Carver, Krenova and McBride2015) presented preliminary results from the same dataset used in the current paper while participating in a special conference session aimed at engaging young people at the 10th World Wilderness Congress. Descriptive results suggested that university students in Spain and USA agreed that Antarctica should be managed as a wilderness reserve where development of infrastructure is limited, although students in USA appeared to be more supportive of resource management and tourism development activities than students in Spain. However, significance tests were not reported, and results were discussed within the context of different meanings of wilderness around the world, including protected areas in New Zealand and Kamchatka.
Environmental perceptions and behaviours of youth across cultures
Several studies have examined cross-cultural differences in the environmental attitudes and behaviours of youth. Based on the responses from over 6,000 university students from 34 nations, Liu and Sibley (Reference Liu and Sibley2012) reported that students in developed countries demonstrated higher levels of willingness to make sacrifices to help protect the environment. Cordano and others (Reference Cordano, Welcomer and Scherer2010) reported that, compared to business students in USA, Chilean business students expressed a greater sense of obligation to protect the environment and stronger intentions to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Based on a sample of over 2,000 university students in Spain, USA, Brazil and Mexico, Vicente-Molina and others (Reference Vicente–Molina, Fernández–Sáinz and Izagirre –Olaizola2013) reported that Spanish students were the most likely to recycle, while US students demonstrated greater consumptive behaviour and were the least likely to use public transport. Price sensitivity was a major barrier to pro-environmental behaviour for students in all four countries. Izagirre-Olaizola and others (Reference Izagirre–Olaizola, Fernández–Sainz and Vicente–Molina2015) compared the recycling behaviour of Spanish and US students, and reported those with more altruistic motivations and who believed their actions could help to improve the environment were more likely to recycle than those who had more selfish motivations. Studies of younger people demonstrated that 16–17 year-olds in the Asia-Pacific region varied in their knowledge of individual environmental concepts but shared support for environmental protection (Yencken and others Reference Yencken, Fien and Sykes2000). Based on the data of 400,000 fifteen year-olds from 56 countries, Boeve-de Pauw and Van Petegem (Reference Boeve–de Pauw and Van Petegem2010) found that females who have ready access to educational resources and who live in a country with a rich biodiversity and/or with polluted environments were more likely to show more pro-environmental attitudes.
In general, cross-cultural comparisons of environmental values and behaviours have reported that human-environment relationships differ between societies and also between individuals within a single society (Milfont Reference Milfont and Clayton2012). Environmental attitudes are influenced by many factors at an individual level (for example values, educational level and environmental knowledge), as well as a societal or cultural level (for example religion, nation's wealth and environmental quality) (Gifford and Nilsson Reference Gifford and Nilsson2014), with wealth and educational development frequently correlating positively with pro-environmental behaviour (Pisano and Lubell Reference Pisano and Lubell2015; Franzen and Meyer Reference Franzen and Meyer2010).
Methods
In the 2012–2013 academic year, a questionnaire that included categorical, ordinal, and open-ended measures was distributed to a convenient sample of 400 undergraduate students enrolled in environmental science and tourism courses in Spain and in the United States. The study was not designed to generalise to larger populations, but to compare groups of undergraduate students enrolled in similar courses at two large public universities (> 20,000 students) in countries that are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty.
A short introduction at the beginning of the document provided brief background information on the Antarctic Treaty (for example date of ratification; number of signatories; that Antarctica is to be ‘managed for the benefit of mankind’) and explained the purpose of the study; ‘to better understand global perspectives regarding the importance of Antarctica and how it should be managed now and in the future.’ Care was taken to avoid language that might bias results. Respondents were asked to rate their level of environmental knowledge, and knowledge of Antarctica, as low, medium, or high on a three point ordinal scale. They were also asked to specify whether they had previously travelled to Antarctica, and their primary reasons for doing so. Values related to Antarctic wilderness were assessed through two categorical questions with multiple response options: (1) What is, in your opinion, the importance of Antarctica? (2) Which of the following statements represent most closely your views on the relationship between human beings and the Antarctic environment? Respondents were asked to check all that applied (Tables 1, 2).
Table 1. Importance of Antarctica by nationality and course type
a Chi-Square test for differences between Spain and the USA: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
b Chi-Square Test for differences between Spain Tourism and US Tourism courses: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
Table 2. Relationship between humans and the Antarctic wilderness by nationality and course type
a Chi-Square test for differences between Spain and the USA: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
b Chi-Square test for differences between Spain Tourism and US Tourism courses: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
Next, respondents were asked to indicate whether they believed that 14 resource management and tourism development practices were taking place in Antarctica, and whether they supported such actions (Tables 3, 5). They were also asked about their perceptions of annual visitation rates, the scope of visitation (that is the percentage of Antarctica's land area regularly visited by humans), and the extent of infrastructure development (Table 4). Responses were measured on three point ordinal scales and recoded as correct (using ‘1’) or incorrect (using ‘0’). Additionally, respondents were asked whether these parameters should decrease, remain the same, or increase (Fig. 1).
Table 3. Accuracy of beliefs about resource management and tourism development practices by nationality and course type
a Chi-Square test for differences between Spain and USA: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
b Chi-Square test for differences between Spain Tourism and US Tourism courses: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
c Management practices currently taking place in Antarctica at zero or very low levels.
Table 4. Accuracy of beliefs about visitation and infrastructure development by nationality and course type
a Chi-Square test for differences between Spain and USA: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
b Chi-Square test for differences between Spain Tourism and US Tourism courses: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
Table 5. Support for resource management and tourism development practices by nationality and course type
a Chi-Square test for differences between Spain and USA: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
b Chi-Square test for differences between Spain Tourism and US Tourism courses: * significant at α ≤ .05; ** significant at α ≤ .01.
Fig. 1. Support for visitation and infrastructure development by nationality and course type.
Statistical analysis was completed in SPSS Version 21, and involved non-parametric techniques appropriate for the data (Chi-Square Tests and Mann-Whitney U Tests). The criterion for statistical significance was α ≤ 0.05. Explanatory variables included nationality and course type. The latter was used to control for variation associated with different course types. After testing for differences based on nationality, the environmental science course was excluded and classes were recoded as Spain Tourism or US Tourism. This helped us determine whether differences in values, beliefs, and attitudes were more attributable to nationality or course type. Responses to the open-ended questions were beyond the scope of the paper and were not reported.
Results
Respondent profiles
A total of 368 surveys were returned in a usable format for an overall response rate of 96.5%. There were 189 respondents from Spain and 179 from USA. The sample from Spain included 99 students enrolled in an environmental science course and 90 in a tourism course. The sample from USA included 69 students in an international tourism course and 110 in an introductory level recreation and tourism management course. A majority of respondents from Spain were female (65.1%), while a majority of those from USA were male (53.1%). The average age was 21 in both countries. Environmental knowledge was moderate (Spain: x = 2.07; USA: x = 1.70, on a 1 to 3 scale with 1 being low and 3 being high) and knowledge of Antarctica was low (Spain: x = 1.21; USA: x = 1.06). None of the students had previously travelled to Antarctica.
Values: what is the importance of Antarctica?
When asked about the importance of Antarctica, students in USA were more likely to indicate that the area is ‘a reserve of mineral resources that might support society in the future’ (X2 (1) = 12.09, p = .000). Students in Spain were more likely to indicate that Antarctica is ‘an important component of the Earth's climate system’ (X2 (1) = 7.09, p = .005) (Table 1). There were no statistically significant differences when students in the Spanish tourism course were compared to tourism students in USA (Table 1). Less than 3% of respondents considered Antarctica to have no value for mankind. ‘One of world's last great wildernesses’, ‘science laboratory for the benefit of mankind’ and ‘an important component of the Earth's climate system’ were the items that received the highest level of support across samples (Table 1).
Values: relationships between humans and the Antarctic environment
Students in USA were more likely to indicate that humans and the natural environment of Antarctica were of equal importance (X2 (1) = 13.75, p = .000), while students in Spain were more likely to indicate that humans should protect the Antarctic environment, including those components that have no direct benefit for humans (X2 (1) = 44.40, p = .000) (Table 2). Students in the Spanish tourism course were more likely than US tourism students to state that humans have a moral obligation to protect the Antarctic environment, irrespective of direct benefits to society (X2 (1) = 9.78, p = .002) (Table 2). Less than 5% of respondents considered humans to be more important than the Antarctic environment. Half or more of the respondents considered Antarctica as a place where people may experience a connection with nature, and agreed that humans have a responsibility to protect Antarctica for future generations.
Beliefs
Students were asked whether they believed that 14 resource management and tourism development practices were taking place in Antarctica. Mining, water-resource development, land-based tourism including the construction of dedicated hotels and wilderness protection where development of infrastructure is limited are currently taking place in Antarctica at zero or very low levels, and were reverse coded. Chi-Square Tests revealed that the accuracy of beliefs varied significantly on seven items, with students in the United States scoring higher on six items (Table 3). After controlling for course type, the accuracy of beliefs differed significantly on only two items, the presence of large-scale ship-based tourism and the presence of road networks, with students in USA scoring higher on both (Table 3).
Students in USA held more accurate beliefs about the percentage of Antarctica's land area visited by humans (X2 (1) = .585, p = .045). There were no statistically significant differences after controlling for course type (Table 4).
Attitudes
Students in USA were more likely to support ten of the resource management and tourism development practices included in the study. Support for media projects, research activities, commercial fishing, and wilderness protection did not differ by nationality (Table 5). Only three of these differences remained after controlling for course type: support for large-scale ship-based tourism, educational trips for students, and construction of road networks, all of which were higher among students in US tourism courses. Support for protecting Antarctica as a wilderness reserve, which did not differ based on nationality alone, was higher among US tourism students (Table 5). Over three-quarters of respondents supported the protection of Antarctica as a wilderness reserve where development of infrastructure is limited. The majority of respondents (>65%) supported small to medium-scale ship-based tourism, educational trips, art projects and construction of new stations. Fewer than one-fifth of respondents supported hunting for whales or commercial exploitation of biological or genetic material.
When asked whether visitation rates, the scope of visitation, and the extent of infrastructure development should decrease, stay the same, or increase, Mann-Whitney U Tests revealed that students in Spain were less supportive of increases in both the rate (U(1) = 11,225.5, Z = -5.52, p = .000) and scope of visitation (U(1) = 12,536.5, Z = -3.804, p = .000). There were no differences in perceptions of infrastructure development, and none of the tests were significant when tourism students in Spain were compared to tourism students in USA. The majority of respondents supported no change or decrease in the number of people going to Antarctica each year, as well as in the percentage of Antarctica's land area that is covered by permanent infrastructure (Fig. 1).
Discussion
Differences between Spain and the USA
This study sought to determine whether values, beliefs, and attitudes about human activities in the Antarctic environment varied between students at two comparably sized public universities in different parts of the world. Preliminary results indicated a number of statistically significant differences based on nationality. US students were more likely to value Antarctica as a reserve of mineral resources and to state that humans and the Antarctic environment are of equal importance. Students in Spain were more likely to value Antarctica as an important component of the Earth's climate system and to agree that humans have a moral obligation to protect components of the Antarctic ecosystem that have no direct benefit to society. The accuracy of US students’ beliefs was significantly higher on six activities taking place in Antarctica, most of which concerned infrastructure development or resource use. They also showed greater support than Spanish students for ten tourism development and resource management practices, held more accurate beliefs about the current scope of visitation in Antarctica, and were more likely to support increases in both the number of people visiting each year and the extent of visitation. This suggests that US students’ perspectives were more anthropocentric and development oriented.
These findings led to a final research question. Are there other factors that could explain the apparent differences in university students’ values, beliefs and attitudes about the Antarctic environment? To explore this question we compared Spanish tourism students with US tourism students. If the observed differences between Spanish and US students were primarily attributable to nationality, the same differences should have appeared in a comparison of tourism students from the respective countries. Results indicated that there were fewer differences between Spanish and US tourism students than between all Spanish and US students. In other words, variation in the initial analyses resulted primarily from differences between environmental science students in Spain, and tourism students in the US. On the subject of the importance of Antarctica, there were no statistically significant differences between Spanish and US tourism students (Table 1). Spanish tourism students were still more likely than US tourism students to say that humans have a moral obligation to protect components of the Antarctic environment that have no direct benefit to society. There were no significant differences in the responses of Spanish and US tourism students to five other statements on the relationship between humans and the Antarctic environment (Table 2). The accuracy of US tourism students’ beliefs was significantly higher than that of Spanish tourism students on only two of 14 tourism development and resource management practices (Table 3), and support of US and Spanish tourism students differed significantly on only four of these activities (Table 5). There were no statistically significant differences in accuracy of beliefs or support for visitation and infrastructure development between Spanish and US tourism students (Table 4 and Fig. 1). Therefore, we conclude that differences in university students’ values, beliefs and attitudes regarding the Antarctic wilderness do not vary greatly based on nationality.
Accuracy of beliefs
The majority of respondents knew that small to medium-scale ship-based tourism, art projects, educational trips, construction of new research stations, and commercial fishing are all taking place in Antarctica. They also knew that there are currently no mining activities. Many respondents did not know that large cruise ships have been travelling to Antarctica. Most respondents believed that land-based tourism involving hotel construction and tourist accommodation in research stations is taking place. While there are currently no plans for the development of hotels, tourist accommodation in stations and specially dedicated facilities have existed in the recent past (ASOC 2011; IAATO 2009; Bastmeijer and others Reference Bastmeijer, Lamers and Harcha2008). A majority of respondents also believed that Antarctica is currently being protected as a wilderness reserve in which development of infrastructure is limited. While the Environmental Protocol has given legal protection to Antarctica's wilderness values, there are no official limits to the development of infrastructure in Antarctica and the human footprint has continued to grow (Tin and Summerson Reference Tin and Summerson2013; Hughes and others Reference Hughes, Fretwell and Rae2011). The majority of respondents believed that hunting for whales is taking place in Antarctica, consistent with current practices as whales in the Southern Ocean are killed for controversial scientific research (Leaper and Childerhouse Reference Leaper, Childerhouse, Tin, Liggett, Maher and Lamers2014).
A majority of respondents believed that only several thousand people go to Antarctica each year. In reality, over 60,000 staff, crew and paying passengers travelled to Antarctica with the tourism industry in the 2013–2014 season (IAATO 2014) and 104 National Antarctic Programme facilities have a peak simultaneous capacity for 4,500 people (COMNAP 2014). Respondents greatly underestimated the number of people going to Antarctica. When asked to choose whether they believed that long-term infrastructure covered <10%, or 10–50% or >50% of Antarctica's land area, the majority of respondents chose the smallest value. This answer matches most closely with Summerson's (Reference Summerson2013) estimate that less than one percent of Antarctica's land area is currently covered by long-term infrastructure.
Consistency with previous research
There have been relatively few studies on the perceptions of people who have not travelled to Antarctica, and not all of these studies have asked the same questions. Nonetheless, among existing studies in the literature, there is relatively little variation based on nationality on certain issues. For example, a majority of respondents in AntWILD studies valued Antarctica primarily for its role in the planetary climate system, its wilderness, and as a science laboratory for the benefit of mankind. Respondents came mostly from Europe and North America. They also supported the conduct of small to medium-scale ship-based tourism, educational trips, construction of new scientific stations and designating Antarctica as a wilderness reserve where development of infrastructure is limited (Bastmeijer and Tin Reference Bastmeijer, Tin, Alfredsson, Koivurova and Ágústsson2015). In a random telephone survey of 600 members of the public in two Chilean cities, Salazar (Reference Salazar, Liggett and Hemmings2013) reported that large proportions of respondents supported Antarctica as ‘a global commons to be preserved for humanity’ and ‘a continent for scientific research.’ In New Zealand, respondents to an online survey indicated that Antarctica is one of the last pristine areas of the world that needs to be preserved, and also referred to its mitigating effect on global warming (Colmar Brunton Reference Brunton2011). In their study involving nearly 2000 secondary school and university students in Malaysia, Shabudin and others (Reference Shabudin, Rahim and Nor2016) reported that more than 50% of respondents did not agree with mining in Antarctica, while 70% agreed with the statement ‘Antarctica is for science and peace’. However, in their study involving 1000 young Argentines, Del Acebo Ibáñez and Costa (Reference Del Acebo Ibáñez and Costa2010) reported that only a minority of their respondents embraced a poetic or utopian vision of Antarctica.
The present study focused on individuals from two different countries with similar ages, levels of education, and knowledge of Antarctica. The two countries, Spain and USA, also provide many contrasts in their involvement with Antarctica and in domestic wilderness protection. Despite their government's significant role in Antarctic affairs, US respondents were not more supportive of scientific research in Antarctica, nor did they value the Antarctic wilderness more than their Spanish counterparts. While cross-national studies of environmental attitudes indicate that cultural belief systems shape people's responses to the natural environment (Milfont and Schultz Reference Milfont and Schultz2016), results from this study indicate that differences between Spanish and US students arose primarily from differences between Spanish environmental science students and US tourism students. Hence, as a corollary, students’ values, beliefs and attitudes appear to have greater variations based on course type than on nationality.
Previous research has documented similar findings, and some have forwarded the hypothesis that students choose disciplines that are consistent with their worldviews (Lang Reference Lang2011; Hodgkinson and Innes Reference Hodgkinson and Innes2001). Students enrolled in park management, outdoor recreation, and biology courses have shown more favourable environmental attitudes than students in economics and technology courses (Arnocky and Stroink 2013; Thapa Reference Thapa2001; Tikka and others Reference Tikka, Kuitunen and Tynys2000). Similarly, students in environmental studies courses displayed more biocentric attitudes than students in recreation management courses (Schultz and others Reference Schultz, Simpson and Abdulaziz2011). While exposure to environmental courses has the potential to modify students’ environmental attitudes (Rideout Reference Rideout2005; Hsu Reference Hsu2004), students’ original views on domination of humans over the environment do not necessarily shift (Kuo and Jackson Reference Kuo and Jackson2014). Vicente-Molina and others (Reference Vicente–Molina, Fernández–Sáinz and Izagirre –Olaizola2013) reported that Spanish and US students who took more courses on environmental issues were actually less likely to demonstrate pro-environmental behaviour, but reported no relationship between course type and environmental behaviour among students in Brazil and Mexico.
Implications
Emerging adulthood is a period of transition between adolescence and the stable adult roles of marriage, work and family responsibilities (Arnett Reference Arnett and Jensen2011). Emerging adults have to make life decisions within contexts that have become more complex, diverse and globalised than those encountered by their parents (Parks Reference Parks2011). While inherited cultural beliefs will remain important factors in their choices, the opportunities and information available in the globalised world of the 21st century could potentially allow emerging adults to adopt values that are different from their traditional local norms or even create new global norms. More cross-cultural studies of the environmental values of emerging adults will be needed to test such hypotheses. Meanwhile, results from this study suggest that emerging adults’ perceptions of the Antarctic wilderness do not divide neatly along national borders.
Antarctica was valued by over 40% of respondents as a science laboratory for the benefit of mankind, one of the world's last great wildernesses and an important component of the Earth's climate system. If these preferences were to be placed into operation within the management of Antarctica, it would imply priority of research efforts that have clear benefits for mankind and management of human activities that would allow the cohabitation of scientific research and wilderness protection. Specifically, wilderness protection would entail limited development of infrastructure, and was supported by over 80% of respondents. The majority underestimated the number of people that are currently going to Antarctica each year and at the same time, they supported no change or decrease in these numbers. Similarly the majority correctly estimated the percentage of Antarctica's land area that is covered by permanent infrastructure and supported no change or decrease. If these preferences were to be operated, it would imply reducing the number of people going to Antarctica each year to levels far below current practice. It also implies the discontinuation of the expansion of the human footprint.
Limitations
The first limitation of the study lies in the limitations of the populations that were sampled. In order to understand what is in the interest of mankind, future studies need to include more people from different cultures, ages and locations. Future studies that focus on emerging adults may want to explore populations in different locations, for example capital versus small town, compare students with non-students, and explore the influence of value orientations and course of study on students’ perceptions of Antarctica.
Other limitations concern data and methodology. The predominance of categorical data limits the range of data analysis tools that can be used, and hence, inferences that can be made. The study has not been designed to allow causal explanations to be derived. Interviews can elicit additional information that can help the interpretation of responses. In order to have a systematic view of mankind's perception of Antarctica and the way it should be managed, it is necessary to conduct large-scale, simultaneous studies across a large number of sample populations around the world. Until resources are available for such comprehensive analyses, the studies reported and reviewed in this article remain the few datasets that are currently available examining this topic.
The AntWILD project originated from the premise that the ATCPs have a responsibility to account for public views in their decisions. In reality, at present, few opportunities exist for the general public to be involved in Antarctic affairs. The Antarctic Environments Portal (www.environments.aq) enables Antarctic scientists to provide scientific advice by making peer-reviewed science available to the decision makers of the ATS. Some governments have included public consultations in their strategic Antarctic or Antarctic science planning processes, for example Australia (Press Reference Press2014) and New Zealand (New Zealand Government Reference Government2010). Some governments have provided legal provisions enabling the public to comment on Environmental Impact Assessments of proposed activities in Antarctica (Bastmeijer Reference Bastmeijer2003). During the negotiations of the mining convention in the 1980s, protests in the home countries of ATCPs were organised by environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (Roura Reference Roura and Riffenburgh2007). For the most part, public involvement in Antarctic affairs is limited to indirect forms through the efforts of NGOs that attend Antarctic Treaty meetings with hopes of influencing decisions makers through their papers, analyses and criticism, and lobbying efforts (Barnes and Webb Reference Barnes, Webb, Francioni and Scovazzi1996; Tin Reference Tin2013). In democratic countries, the public can also have an indirect influence on Antarctic affairs through the election of its national government and other votes and referendums. However, not all countries that are ATCPs are democratic regimes. Therefore, it remains unclear how governments of ATCPs measure and incorporate what is in the ‘interest of mankind’ into their decisions. Even in the case where more comprehensive information on the values, beliefs and attitudes of the global population becomes available, it remains to be seen how and if the ATS would take such information into account in their decisions with respect to the management of human activities in the Antarctic wilderness.
Conclusions
Spanish and US university students’ values, beliefs and attitudes regarding the Antarctic wilderness do not appear to vary greatly based on nationality. Less than 5% of respondents considered humans to be more important than the Antarctic environment. Half or more of our respondents considered Antarctica as a place where people may experience a connection with nature, and agreed that humans have a responsibility to protect Antarctica for future generations. Nonetheless, differences do exist and they appear to be greater based on course type than on nationality.
Engelbertz and others (Reference Engelbertz, Liggett, Steel, Liggett and Hemmings2013: 18) commented that ‘values are at the core in human connections to Antarctica’ and that ‘every decision on how to manage human contact to and activity on the icy continent is necessarily linked to most basic questions of moral nature’ and of human values. If that be the case, then managing Antarctica ‘in the interest of mankind’ would need to, somehow, allow mankind's values, beliefs and attitudes to be made known and be incorporated into ‘every decision on how to manage human contact to and activity on the icy continent’ (Engelbertz and others Reference Engelbertz, Liggett, Steel, Liggett and Hemmings2013: 18). This study contributes to the respective body of knowledge by bringing to light the perceptions of two groups of emerging adults. Few opportunities currently exist for the general public to be involved in Antarctic affairs, meaning that public views that are made visible do not necessarily result in them being taken into consideration. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the value of the data presented in this paper, as public views that are not visible stand very little chance of being recognised. Making public opinion visible is one of the first steps towards policy change.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the core team members of AntWILD: Kees Bastmeijer, Jessica O'Reilly, and the consortium partners: Diane Erceg, Amelia Casanovas, Rosa Jijon, Pat Maher and Kern Hildebrand, for their contribution to this research. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who provided constructive comments during the revision process.
