Ecuador Vows to Help Galapagos Islands

Ecuador Vows to Help Galapagos Islands

   
April 2007 -   The conservation and 
environmental management of the Galapagos Islands ecosystem is 
"at risk and a national priority" due to the anarchy and lack 
of institutionalization that prevail in the archipelago, 
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa declared Sunday. The 
President pledged new protective measures by the end of April.
 President of Ecuador Rafael Correa 
President Correa signed a decree declaring that the 
"overlapping of duties, attempts to ride roughshod over 
others, and politicking that prevail in Galapagos," have put 
the islands and their unique species at risk. The President 
promised to put regulations into effect "to overcome the grave 
institutional, environmental and social crisis that the 
islands are currently going through." 
The Galapagos Islands, in the equatorial Pacific about 1,000 
kilometers (650 miles) from the South American coast, are a 
globally outstanding repository of biodiversity with up to 95 
percent of the original pre-human plants and animals 
remaining. 
The islands and surrounding waters are inhabited by giant 
tortoises, land and marine iguanas, unique finches, and the 
only penguin species which lives in tropical waters. Sea lions 
and fur seals are found around the coasts, while dolphins, 
whales sharks and sea turtles are common. 
After a fact-finding mission to the Galapagos last week, a 
joint United Nations - nonprofit team today confirmed serious 
threats to the Galapagos Islands World Heritage site caused by 
encroachment by invasive species, uncontrolled tourism and 
other challenges. 
Threats include agricultural pests, predation on giant 
tortoise eggs and young by feral pigs and rats, and 
destruction of the native vegetation by herds of feral goats. 
Originally introduced for food, bands of goats have stripped 
whole mountainsides of vegetation, leaving the islands' giant 
tortoises without food or shade. Giant tortoise and introduced
 goats on Isabella island, 
Galapagos. 
The visit, from April 8 to 13, was led by Tumu te Heuheu, 
chairman of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee; Kishore Rao, 
Deputy Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Center; and Berndt 
von Droste of IUCN-World Conservation Union. 
The trip took place at the invitation of the Ecuadorian 
government. 
"The mission welcomed the decisive action taken by the 
President of Ecuador to address comprehensively the 
long-standing problems of the Galapagos Islands, with a series 
of new policies to be adopted in the coming two weeks," the 
group said. 
President Correa, who took office in January, said that the 
government, "with no need for prompting from international 
organizations," has decided to act and is "uncovering a latent 
problem that is the consequence of years of disregard and 
neglect by previous governments and that it is now high time 
to face with responsibility, earnestness and courage." 
The Charles Darwin Foundation, CDF, today applauded President 
Correa's declaration that Galapagos is at risk and is a 
national conservation priority. 
The Foundation, named after the British naturalist whose 
influential book "origin of Species" is based on his study of 
the Galapagos, was contracted by the government of Ecuador 40 
years ago to provide the scientific input into the management 
of the Galapagos National Park. 
Galapagos tourists photograph nesting birds. 
Tourism visitation has grown in Galapagos from 40,000 in 1991 
to over 120,000 in 2006; over this period the tourism economy 
has grown at a yearly rate of 14 percent, the Foundation says. 
This rapid economic growth has been coupled with a similar 
rise in immigration, outstripping the capacity of management 
authorities of Galapagos, including the National Institute of 
Galapagos, the Galapagos National Park, the Galapagos 
Inspection and Quarantine System and the Municipalities. 
Dr. Graham Watkins, CDF executive director, said, "The 
consequences of this growth include an increase in invasive 
species, increased risk of pollution and finally the 
likelihood of greater pressures on high value marine 
resources." 
There are now 748 species of introduced plants in Galapagos 
compared to the 500 species of native plants. Sixty percent of 
the 180 endemic plant species are considered threatened 
according to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species criteria. 
There are now at least 490 species of insects and 53 species 
of other invertebrates introduced to Galapagos; 55 of which 
have the potential to cause severe impacts on native 
biodiversity. 
Marine resources including lobster, sea cucumber and grouper 
have declined precipitously over the last 15 years. 
The Galapagos Islands was the first site to be inscribed on 
the World Heritage List in 1978. The site was further expanded 
in 2001 to include the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The 
government of Ecuador has declared 97 percent of the land area 
as a national park. 
During their visit, members of the UNESCO-IUCN mission took 
part in a multi-stakeholder meeting convened by the government 
of Ecuador with the participation of the ministers and 
vice-ministers in charge of the environment, multilateral 
relations, and tourism; the governor of the Galapagos Province 
and the mayor of the island of Santa Cruz. 
The full findings of the mission will be presented to the 
World Heritage Committee in charge of implementing UNESCO's 
World Heritage Convention at its next meeting in Christchurch, 
New Zealand in July. 
Endemic marine iguanas on the Galapagos Islands. 
The World Heritage Committee is the governing body for the 
World Heritage Convention, made up of 21 members elected from 
the 183 countries that have ratified the World Heritage 
Convention. 
The Committee will decide on actions to help environment newsure the 
long-term conservation of this site, including the possibility 
of inscribing it on the List of World Heritage in Danger. 
Previous UNESCO-IUCN Galapagos mission reports to the World 
Heritage Committee in 2005 and 2006 have reported major 
threats to the long-term conservation of the islands that 
include introduction of non-native plant and animal species 
from increased air and maritime traffic. 
Up to 300,000 sharks are taken illegally from Galapagos waters 
every year to feed the Asian shark fin soup market. The 
illegal capture of sea cucumber, though still intenvironment newsive, has 
dropped from earlier peaks due to the massive reduction in 
populations from overfishing. 
Today, 30,000 people live in three main settlements on the 
islands, most work in the tourism-related service sector, 
others in agriculture and traditional fisheries. 
Every year over 100,000 visitors, mainly from North America 
and Europe, fly into the islands to embark on a cruise. 
Despite laws controlling the movement of people from the 
continent to the Galapagos, an estimated 20 percent of 
Galapagos residents do not have the permits required to live 
there. Increased population leads to greater risk of 
introduction and spread of alien species, and to higher 
pressure on scarce resources. 
The Charles Darwin Foundation says that since the 
establishment of permanent human settlements there, about five 
percent of the species of the Galapagos are estimated to have 
become extinct. 

---


More Aging Earth Headlines >> 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - Aging Earth Home

AGING EARTH HOME

---

© 2009; Aging Earth .com
Powered by WorldsLargestNetwork.com