Prologue

The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change has been actively exploring innovative and engaging ways of enhancing public understanding of climate change and sustainable development. We are now proud to present, in collaboration with the local NGO ProjecTerrae, science communicator Dr Stephen Ng, and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, an exhibition on the theme ‘Beyond 60°S’.

All the landmass and ice shelves of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean south of latitude 60°S are regulated under the Antarctic Treaty System, which has been enacted to set aside Antarctica as a natural reserve, and to devote it to peace and scientific investigations.

This near-pristine wilderness, however, has attracted international attention in recent years as a result of climate change and the growing global demand for resources. This has raised fears that the Antarctic will be exploited for its resources, which may lead to conflicts over sovereignty, the deterioration of its landscape and the depletion of its natural resources.

This fragile global commons, faced with potential environmental threats, can only be safeguarded and conserved through better understanding the true value of its natural resources.

This exhibition provides you with basic information on the natural resources of the Antarctic, and is designed to raise awareness of how the resources of this region can be used sustainably.

About ProjecTerrae ProjecTerrae is a non-profit organization set up by a group of geologists with the aim of promoting earth sciences and the sustainability of global resources. This exhibition benefits from a ProjecTerrae exhibition ‘The Antarctic: A War Over Resources’ held in 2014, after Mr Jackie Chu, founder of ProjecTerrae, completed a fortnight journey with the ‘International Antarctic Expedition’.

About Dr Stephen Ng Dr Ng provided the scientific content for the original exhibition, and this content forms part of the basis of the current exhibition ‘Beyond 60°S’. Dr Ng is an assistant professor in the University of Hong Kong’s Centennial College, with primary research interests in earth sciences, environmental sustainability and science communication.

For further interests, more information is available from The Antarctic of our sustainability hub.