Swiss-led research team warns against tourism to melting glaciers

Research team warns against tourism with melting glaciers Keystone-SDA

The onslaught on melting glaciers is becoming a problem. According to researchers, tourism could threaten the fragile ice landscapes that it actually wants to make tangible.

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An international team led by the University of Lausanne warns in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change that glacier landscapes could be “loved to death” by tourists. The researchers’ commentary was published on Monday.

Awareness of climate change has strongly promoted so-called “last-chance tourism” to glaciers. The tourism industry is responding to this with technical measures such as covering ice surfaces with geotextiles or more infrastructure.

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The researchers criticise such adaptations. They would not address the causes of climate change and could create new problems such as microplastic pollution or increase the carbon footprint, for example by offering tourist helicopter flights.

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Translated from German by AI/jdp

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