One of the tasks of the endorsed project "Enhancing the environmental legacy of the IPY in Antarctica" is to look at the cumulative environmental impacts of the IPY.

So far, the IPY Joint Committee has endorsed 99 projects with Antarctic or bipolar focus. These projects encompass at least 350 research activities, of which 82% plan to conduct fieldwork in Antarctica. Of these activities, 105 (37%) are planning to leave behind physical infrastructure.

A large amount of activity has been planned around existing centers of research (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula, Dronning Maud Land); a number of large-scale research activities has also been planned in areas which have, so far, been seldom visited (e.g., the Gamburtsev Mountains, subglacial lakes). Many of them have been planned as the precursor of long-term research programs.

In view of the ensemble of the 350 research activities that have been endorsed, the IPY is likely to lead to 1) an increase in infrastructure and human activity in Antarctica, 2) increased pressure on Antarctica's wilderness values, and 3) an increased level of interest in Antarctica, including tourism activity.

The recent trend in Antarctica consists of increasing numbers of people (e.g., the number of tourists visiting by ship have nearly quadrupled between 1995 and 2005), increasing amount of infrastructure (e.g., the number of research stations have nearly doubled since 1980) and activities expanding further into areas that have been hitherto seldom accessed (e.g., the polar plateau and subglacial lakes). The IPY continues this trend and demonstrates the need for long-term and long-scale planning and international cooperation for all Antarctic activities.

These results will be presented at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in New Delhi which takes place from 30 April to 11 May.