For more than 20 years Antarctic Treaty Parties have been discussing how to appropriately manage cumulative impacts in the continent. Preventing cumulative impacts requires the fluent exchange of information to enable proper and timely assessment of, and response to, the impacts that result from multiple activities, undertaken by multiple stakeholders and supervised by different Parties. This is a particular challenge for the effective management of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), as a lack of coordination may potentially put at risk the fulfillment of their conservation objectives. Here we suggest that incorporating lessons learnt from protected areas management elsewhere might improve the effectiveness of ASPAs and provide valuable experiences and insights on how to better manage cumulative impacts in the rest of the continent. Key concepts to incorporate in Antarctica’s environmental management toolbox include (1) the notion of adaptive management, which is a cornerstone of protected areas management effectiveness elsewhere, and (2) the need of empowering protected area managers, which are a key (but often missing) element to ensure local compliance with management plans, co-ordinate on site activities, facilitate exchange of information, promote cooperation and manage conflicts.

20 多年来，南极条约缔约方一直在讨论如何适当管理该大陆的累积影响。防止累积影响需要流畅的信息交流，以便能够适当和及时地评估和应对由多个利益攸关方开展并由不同缔约方监督的多项活动所产生的影响。这对于有效管理南极特别保护区 (ASPA) 来说是一项特殊挑战，因为缺乏协调可能会危及实现其保护目标的风险。在这里，我们建议从其他地方的保护区管理中吸取经验教训，可能会提高 ASPA 的有效性，并就如何更好地管理非洲大陆其他地区的累积影响提供宝贵的经验和见解。