The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has released details of its strategy for managing the territory under the banner ‘Pathway to Protection’.
This will be a two-phased approach, involving the declaration of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and will treat two areas differently.
South Georgia and its surrounding islands will be managed so as to balance access with protection, very much along the lines of what already happens. The South Sandwich Islands will be closed to visitors, although there are already very few anyway, to preserve its even more unspoilt nature.
The Pathway to protection will be implemented in two phases. In phase I, the South Sandwich Islands will be closed to most visitors, and South Georgia will carry on much in the way it already does. Phase II will consist of information gathering and consultation, to gather the information needed to determine the need for, and the methods of implementing, more localised management plans.
An advisory group will be convened to help with this, including, we hope, representatives of the South Georgia Association.