Flycatcher killed by high speed vehicles
Galapagos faces several challenges to conservation and sustainability. Currently more than 20% of endemic plant species and 50 percent of vertebrate species are now considered endangered. Some problems have been carried forward from earlier times, such as over-hunting of tortoises, and destruction of the highlands for the creation of agricultural areas, but others have developed in importance only in the last 50 years.
The local human population and economy have expanded rapidly, with poorly managed and unsustainable growth. Meanwhile, conflicts over limited resources are impeding collaborative local action.
Icerya purchasi - the cottony cushion scale
In addition, invasive species have come to be regarded as posing the greatest risk to native biodiversity on land. Other challenges include over-harvesting of natural resources in the sea, climate change and pollution. The increasing ease of international travel and popularity of Galapagos as a tourist destination means that tourism itself, once seen purely as a positive benefit to conservation of Galapagos, is also part of the problem.
While CDF and the Galapagos National Park have been remarkably effective in addressing these problems in the last fifty years, much more preventive and restoration work still must be done. All these challenges must be addressed urgently, holistically and strategically if Galapagos is to survive into the next century.