The Galapagos have been in crisis since the early 1990s. Over the last 15 years, rapid economic change has altered the social, cultural and ecological fabric of the islands. The existing direction of development in Galapagos will not result in their long-term conservation. In the past, uninhibited market forces decimated whales, fur seals and tortoises; today, sea cucumber harvests and tourism are booming and busting.
Many of you have experienced these extraordinary and unique islands; and I am sure you are wondering how we can turn this situation around.
Conservation of these islands requires a change in the direction of their development. We hope that you will join with us in supporting the leadership of the President of Ecuador and UNESCO who have recognized the crisis and have indicated the kinds of changes required.
Over the last 15 years, the tourism economy has grown at approximately 14% per year – it has grown exponentially. Tourism has been relatively well managed at the level of sites and visitors still enjoy access to the sights and experiences of 20 years ago. Unfortunately, tourism has several negative indirect impacts. The tourism economy has driven growth in the local towns and increased ship and plane access, so decreasing the isolation of the islands from invasive species. Tourism visitation has grown from 40,000 to 145,000 visitors in 15 years; in the same period the numbers of registered introduced species has grown from 619 to 1,321.
Slowing this growth is the only sure way to begin reducing the probabilities of disastrous invasions and additional oil spills. The first change required in the islands is therefore to ensure that the economic base is truly sustainable. Growth will only be slowed with a new economic model that ties local people to tourism and so to conservation. Local people will be incorporated when we can tie small sustainable family based enterprises to the larger tourism operations. We can also support the government in their regulation of tourism growth, in better defining tourism markets, and in using socio-economic and ecological criteria in allocating tourism concessions.
The second change required in the islands is to modify the existing educational system to suit it to the special situation in Galapagos. The reformed education system must ensure that residents are trained so that they can be employed in local businesses and can be competitive outside of Galapagos. Employing more local people will also help tie the lives of people to tourism and conservation of the islands. The new educational system should instill an island culture that understands limits, conserves energy and water, and builds a constituency for long-term sustainability. This island culture must prevail over the existing frontier culture that does not recognize such limits and the need for sustainability. Finally, the new system must make use of the extraordinary Galapagos environment as a source of fascination and inculcate environmental issues throughout the learning process.
The third change required is to manage the impacts of invasive species – the greatest threat to the biodiversity of the islands. The priority is to ensure that new species do not continue to arrive. This can be done by strengthening the quarantine system and by managing flights and boat movements to the islands. Once species have arrived and established they either need to be controlled or eradicated. Existing control methods are costly and new methods of biological control and integrated management will be increasingly important in the future. Invasive species eradication has been a strength of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation. We need to build on the past successes to ensure removal of introduced vertebrates, plants and invertebrates.
The Presidential decree of April 10, 2007, and the decision by UNESCO to put Galapagos on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger offer an opportunity to implement the required change in direction. The economic boom of the last 15 years has led to an increased number of introduced species in the islands – the greatest threat to their integrity.
It has become clear that we need a new vision of a sustainable and equitable society living in harmony with the biological diversity of the islands. Women’s groups producing value added local products; the recycling systems of the Municipalities; the new public-private partnership cooking school at the Galapagos National College and the extraordinary Project Isabela and rehabilitation of Espanola Island stand as models for the future. It is our fervent hope that we can create a truly sustainable society that cares for these islands and that this new system will be a model for the rest of the world.
We hope that you will continue to work with us to support this vision and multiply our successes and so ensure the long term conservation of these extraordinary islands.
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