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We work to protect and raise awareness of the incredible wildlife and unique heritage of South Georgia, a UK Overseas Territory famed for its penguins, seals and Shackleton’s epic adventure. This appeal will help launch a project to remove pollutants from the island’s abandoned whaling stations.
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Situation
On South Georgia, breath-taking natural beauty contrasts starkly with rusting whaling station relics, poignant reminders of how nature was once exploited here on a monumental scale. Fortunately, times have changed. SGHT has successfully eradicated the rodents accidentally introduced by whalers, while in the oceans whale numbers are slowly recovering. However, a toxic legacy of pollutants and physical hazards still lingers from the whaling era in some of South Georgia’s disused whaling stations.
Solution
Working with the University of Dundee’s Centre for Remote Environments, in conjunction with the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), we plan to undertake an ambitious remediation effort to clean up fuel oil, asbestos and other hazardous debris from some of the abandoned whaling stations so we can make these sites safer for wildlife and people. As a first step, we’ll be sending a specialist survey team to identify potential challenges and draw up detailed plans.
