Finally, scientists have recognized the need
to disseminate their findings amongst the public and so the prior picture
of a scientific enclosure has changed completely. This fact has attracted
also tourists to participate in field work as volunteers which is for
some researchers a useful tool to fund their studies. Conducting research
in such sensitive ecosystems like the High Arctic or Antarctica, however,
provokes an ambivalent aftertaste since any false treatment of these
habitats by poorly trained people could consequently change this ecosystem
for a long period of time. Considering the reproduction times of organisms
in cold ecosystems, which can take a couple of 100 years in the worst
case, a thorough evaluation has to be given to the increasing trend
of polar tourism which has experienced an augmentation of 50% from last
year’s visitors. Hence, despite the need to include the public
on-site, it is a crucial decision-making if this should be done in such
sensitive ecosystems, which are the last refuge for undisturbed science
on our planet.
