2006-2010: The Way Forward

	Graham Watkins, Executive Director, Charles Darwin Foundation © CDRS

The Charles Darwin Foundation has undergone substantial change over the past ten years, occasioned by rapid changes in Galapagos that, in turn, have been triggered by economic and population growth.

To keep step with these changes, the National Park Service and the CDF have modified their approach to move toward people-oriented conservation, in accord with the Special Law of Galapagos.

At the same time, we have seen a period of important contributions to the conservation of Galapagos by bilateral and multilateral donors begin to decline, as funds are required for emergencies in other parts of the world.

In response to these new and emerging challenges, the CDF has recognized the need to set a new course for change. In 2005, we began discussions with external stakeholders to help us strengthen alternative income sources, such as our travel partnerships and the support of individuals.

We are also moving toward managing the institution more effectively, a process that will continue well into 2006. We began the year by appointing, on January 1, an executive management team that will lead institutional change. On January 11, the Board approved the CDF Strategic Plan for 2006-2016, giving us a clear framework for action. Our stakeholders have also responded well to the idea of change and welcome the renewed CDF vision and its changes in leadership.

We are enthused about the idea of moving toward an institution that will conserve Galapagos while leading by example, being open and transparent, working closely with people, and focusing on excellence in all aspects of our work.

We hope to see, in ten years’ time, a Galapagos that will serve as an example to the world: a Galapagos with strong local institutions, that makes decisions based on the available knowledge, and whose economic base is founded on sustainable and equitable businesses. We also hope to see a Galapagos with a strong island culture of collaboration, that understands the local ecology and the limits to growth, and whose people behave in a way consistent with living in these unique islands.

We see the CDF supporting the development of this shared vision for the future of Galapagos by serving as the principal international institution in the islands that provides the information required for sound decision making, supports capacity building, and that helps build the island culture.

I hope you find this vision reflected in this first edition of the CDF E-Newsletter for 2006. If you have any questions about the CDF please do not hesitate to contact us at cdrs@fcdarwin.org.ec

All my best,

Graham Watkins

People who benefit from conservation will conserve
Over the past 15 years, Galapagos has seen a lucrative sea cucumber fishery boom and bust. In the same time period, tourism has doubled in the Islands. Yet despite increases in financial flows, conflict, discord, and inequity have marked the recent history of Galapagos.

Artisanal (traditional) fishers © Verónica Toral

It can be argued that much of this negative balance results from unsustainable business development. Economic growth in Galapagos has been driven by external investments, with minimal consideration given to local benefit sharing. This contrasts with models of sustainable business development, which link benefits to local people. In Galapagos, conservation-oriented businesses need to develop that will provide benefits for the local people.

As an example, some believe that sport fishing could support conservation in Galapagos by providing income for local fishers, balancing inequity, and reducing conflict. As presently proposed, however, sport fishing requires significant initial investment in the boat and equipment. Furthermore, putting in place the skills required for operating and managing this very high-end business will necessitate bringing in professionals from outside the islands. The potential end result is a business that is bankrolled and managed by wealthy investors foreign to the Galapagos Islands. Under these circumstances, sport fishing will provide minimal local benefits to islanders and does not meet the indispensable criteria of social and cultural sustainability.

Through ongoing dialogue and work between local fishers, guides, the National Park Service, the local tourism sector and the CDF there is now a proposal for a different approach to developing “sport fishing.” This approach will permit local fishers to slowly build their financial and skill base. “Experiential fishing” (pesca vivencial), as it is referred to, was approved toward the end of 2005 by the Inter-institutional Management Authority. This approach allows tourists to travel with fishermen during their working outings and is a first step toward integrating fishers into a business that is conservation-oriented, in that it minimizes the extraction of fish and provides direct local benefits. Over time, local fishers will gain experience in managing visitors to the islands so that, while they will initially work with small, converted fishing boats, they could gradually move toward tourism or toward sport fishing while ensuring local ownership and employment.

It is hoped that by developing shared local visions supported by many partners, we will construct a society built on sustainable local businesses.

Graham Watkins
Executive Director

Score two for the botanists
The CDF’s botany staff recently celebrated two unusual events in conservation biology: eradication of two invasive blackberry species — Rubus adenotrichos and Rubus megalococcus — on Santa Cruz Island.

	Monitoring a blackberry infestation © CDF

“In Galapagos, where there are no native blackberries, at least five species of this plant have been introduced over the last 40 years,” said CDF’s Head of Botany, Alan Tye. Blackberries are highly competitive plants, and their spiny brambles quickly alter habitats and destroy agricultural land. In Galapagos, patience, dedication, and meticulousness have cut two species off at the root.

Since 1999, CDF staff and park wardens have conducted extensive surveys on several islands to locate, remove, and monitor blackberry plants and seed banks. Although conservationists are sometimes happy to simply control invasive species, our goal this time was to completely remove all plants of these two species. Eradication is considered a good option on islands, where there is a high chance of preventing re-invasion.

To confirm eradication, data from previous field research on blackberry seed productivity and dispersal patterns was used to guide search plans. “All farms of the Santa Cruz agricultural area were surveyed during our introduced plant inventories. All known and potential invasion sites were covered by field crews in an intense, systematic search of more than 2,000 hectares conducted over several years,” said Tye.

Although there is a remote chance that undiscovered R. megalococcus and R. adenotrichos plants still remain in the Santa Cruz agricultural zone, most of the island’s farmers have been part of the CDF’s invasive species awareness programs, which encourages farmers to identify and report any new infestations.

Island restoration a reality
Excitement is in the air for everyone who has been involved with the Isabela Project. This ambitious project, undertaken by the Galapagos National Park Service and CDF with the goal of removing all goats from the Santiago and Isabela islands, is nearing completion in northern Isabela. The feral goats that once ran in herds of thousands, wreaking ecological havoc, are almost gone.

Where goats roam, tortoises can’t survive © Richard Wollocombe

The ecological transformation of the landscape is already visible in the form of a rapidly rising green canopy. On Alcedo Volcano, where goats have been ecologically extinct now for nearly a year, hundreds of young Scalesia trees can be seen.

“To think of well-fed tortoises entering the next rainy season with the breeding fervor I first witnessed here in 1970 is indeed a dream come true, an example of Galapagos conservation setting new world standards," said renowned nature photographer Tui de Roy after a recent flight over northern Isabela. In 1995, de Roy’s photographs documented the loss of fog-drip trees along the rim of the caldera, and in 2000 her photographs of a rolling landscape with only scattered remnant trees contrasted with earlier shots of lush thickets on the island’s outer slopes.

Less than 200 goats are believed to remain on Isabela Island. Aerial and ground sweeps of Santiago Island in late 2005 detected just a single goat. Locating and removing goats was facilitated by the use of “Judas” goats, outfitted with telemetric tracking collars. These goats are released onto the islands to guide aerial and ground hunters to remnant goat populations.

When the Isabela Project ends in June, its team members will look back with satisfaction. In addition to fulfilling their mandate of eradicating goats from northern Isabela, they achieved a drastic reduction in the number of goats and donkeys in southern Isabela, and are close to eradicating goats from Santiago. These are great bonuses for conservation in the Galapagos.

Speed checks aim to reduce bird mortality

The open stretch of paved highway leading to the Baltra airport and the highland towns crossing Santa Cruz Island are well traveled roads - but like many roads in Galapagos, they lack speed controls.

Park, CDF and Police officials at the ceremony © CDF

Not surprisingly, these are the site of frequent bird injuries and deaths from automobile impact. CDF studies have shown that of the 18 species registered in their accident reports, the most heavily affected are newly hatched and juvenile birds. To counter this, the Santa Cruz Island Environmental Police Unit and Galapagos National Park conducted awareness campaigns with taxi drivers and regular users of the highway in 2005, but were frustrated by their inability to monitor driver behavior.

A gift from Shawn Kreloff, a 2002 visitor to the islands, will help to change this situation. In January, the CDF proudly handed over the keys to a motorbike that police will use on regular patrols along the critical sections of the highway and a computer for managing monitoring data, both of them donated by Kreloff.

“Thanks to the vision and generosity of one person who was concerned about what he saw during his visit, we will start the year able to fulfill our commitment to stronger patrolling to reduce traffic injuries and deaths in our birdlife,” said Santa Cruz Island Police Chief, Major Pablo Aguirre. “In these times of economic crisis in Ecuador,” Aguirre continued, “this gift is most welcome, and shows how multiple institutions can work together to protect this paradise.”

CDF leads by example: Exterminating the Dengue mosquito

CDF staff believe in leading by example. During their Friday-morning coffee breaks, more than 40 staff receive bottles of mango leaf solution and germination paper for mosquito traps.

CDF staff distribute mosquito traps © CDF

By using the traps to collect mosquito eggs in their neighborhoods, these staffers have become backyard scientists as part of a community-wide campaign designed to reduce or eliminate the mosquito Aedes aegypti before the 2006 wet season begins.

A. aegypti is a vector of the debilitating Dengue virus. CDF entomologists will analyze the samples collected by their colleagues to provide vital information about the distribution of the mosquito.

“Five of thirteen neighborhoods in Puerto Ayora registered the presence of the mosquito in January,” explained project leader Ronal Azuero. “This information will help the Public Health Department to identify and act in the affected areas.” Since more than 75 percent of the station staff are permanent Galapagos residents and the CDF is one of the largest employers in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the data collected represent a significant component of the local community.

Azuero and his team of 45 local university and high school students are using the information gathered to target breeding areas in Puerto Ayora. The campaign involves teaching residents about the life cycle of the mosquito, and encouraging them to clean out and cap water storage tanks and to keep their gardens and homes free of standing water. Azuero notes that an important secondary goal of the campaign, which began in November 2005, is to create an involved, proactive community that is aware of the seriousness of introduced species, both to the islands’ delicate ecosystem and to their own health.

“A. aegypti was introduced to the islands in 2001,” explained Azuero. “As more people and cargo come to the islands, the threat increases. Fortunately, A. aegypti has a range of only around 100 yards and lives only where there are humans.”

When there are no breeding grounds, there are no mosquitoes. And when there is community action, there is hope.

New introduced species alert!

In December residents of Puerto Ayora began to report finding large numbers of small black insects they had not seen before. The pests were congregating in large numbers on introduced ornamental Ficus trees as well as on light-colored clothes hung on clotheslines.

Common pest, Cuban thrip, Gynaikothrips ficorum © Alejandro Mieles

“Preliminary analysis indicates that it may be the Cuban thrip, Gynaikothrips ficorum, a common insect pest around the world,” said Charlotte Causton, head of CDF invertebrate research.

Within a week of the first report of the insects, specimens were sent to a specialist for identification. Scientists and quarantine agents are concerned that they could threaten endemic plant species as well as some crops, as this thrip is also known to attack citrus. The concern is heightened by the fact that current dry conditions in the islands are favorable to this insect.

Although there are 50 species of thrips in the islands, it is suspected that this may well be a new one. Residents are being encouraged to report any new infestations to the CDF and to the local quarantine offices of the Ecuadorian Service for Agricultural Health (SESA-Galapagos). CDF and SESA staff, meanwhile, are monitoring the situation to establish the distribution of the insect and will determine the next steps to take once they have a more complete picture of the situation.

Music festival ends year on a high note

The ocean boardwalk and plaza of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island came alive December 2nd with the vibrant sound of young voices honoring the Galapagos as a world natural treasure.

First prize winner, Liliana Tomalá © MaryCarmen Moya

"Galapagos Yo te Canto” (I sing of Galapagos), an open-air singing competition, was the culmination of a CDF Environment Education Center (EEC) project that selected and prepared young people from Isabela, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz Islands to express their ideas and feelings about the Galapagos through music.

Local songwriters penned lyrics and music for participating students and shared their passion for music during the weeks of training and preparation leading up to the concert. The competition was open to all permanent residents between the ages of 15 and 22 years. The ten young people who made it to the final round were accompanied by professional musicians from mainland Ecuador as they entertained an audience of more than 3,000 people during the evening event.

Family, friends, neighbors, and passing tourists were enthralled by songs describing the magic of nature in the Galapagos and celebrating Galapagos animals such as the hammer-head shark, the marine iguana, and the Sally Lightfoot crab.

“This performance celebrated the importance of the Galapagos as a world heritage site, and was a wonderful chance for the whole community to come together,” said Sandra Tapia, EEC coordinator in Puerto Ayora. “Through their music, these young people expressed how they think and feel about the islands, their species, and their community in a very creative way.”

Several local organizations, including the Galapagos National Park Service, Conservation International, the Santa Cruz Municipality, and the local airline AEROGAL provided financial support for the event. Metropolitan Touring provided a four-day tour of the islands for the first-prize winner. The outstanding success of the competition has led CDF to consider making it an annual event.

CDF scientist glimpses the secret world of the Galapagos Marine Reserve

Luxury vessels come to Galapagos often enough. Nonetheless, the recent visit of the Octopus - owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and sister, Jody Patton - nonetheless offered an unusual opportunity for Galapagos science. The Octopus is equipped with on-board technology that includes a High Definition digital camera placed on a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle).

Why is he smiling? © CDF

Alex Hearn, who since 2004 has managed CDF research that combines fisheries monitoring with population studies of the main exploited species in the Galapagos marine reserve, was invited on board the Octopus to make the most of this exceptional opportunity. Hearn spent two nights off the northern coast of North Seymour, together with crew from the Octopus, filming a part of the Galapagos ocean floor that most humans will never see. The footage they captured has provided critical knowledge on areas of high importance to reserve management.

“Sustainable fishing remains one of the biggest challenges in the marine reserve,” said Hearn. “Most of my days are spent chronicling the negative impact of human activity on the marine environment, which, given the current population statistics for fisheries, can often be depressing work.” Hearn serves as technical advisor to the Participatory Management Board, a local decision making body for the Galapagos marine reserve.

“The Octopus filming,” Hearn said with a smile, “was a chance to remind myself why I do what I do.” The ROV was able to send back images from up to 1000 meters below sea level. Among the most interesting sightings were a number of deepwater sharks, including species that were still unregistered. “Until now, there have been 29 species of shark registered in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Our footage, thanks to the excellent quality of the photos, clearly shows at least one previously unregistered species of deepwater sharks,” said Hearn. “We are still in the process of identifying them, which is not an easy task given the fact that so little is known about deep sea species.”

	Deep sea porcupine crab Neolithodes sp. © MV Octopus 2005

Other species observed included Venus flytrap anemones, deepwater sea cucumbers, and a range of crabs and deep water shrimp. The trip also provided an opportunity to gather detailed information that will help to improve the current bathymetric charts.

“Everything we did will provide new information on depth, temperature, and location — not to mention all the fantastic images we captured,” Hearn explained. “This was fascinating stuff! The crew and equipment of the Octopus gave us a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of what goes on far below the ocean’s surface.”

Hearn confesses that his fascination with deep sea biology was one of the main reasons he studied oceanography back in Southampton. Certainly, it is a priority study area for the Galapagos marine reserve. “There are so many unanswered questions,” he states emphatically. “Is the deep sea ecology around Galapagos fairly uniform? Does it display the variations that make the coastal waters so unique?”

“Opportunities such as the one provided by the Octopus may help us answer these questions in the future.”

Congratulations! Sylvia Harcourt-Carrasco MBE

CDF’s Secretary of the Board Sylvia Harcourt-Carrasco celebrated the New Year with the news that she had been appointed Member of the British Empire (MBE). The honor came in recognition of her significant contribution to the conservation of the Galapagos Islands and to British education in Ecuador.

Sylvia Harcourt-Carrasco, MBE © Anne Barker

CDF’s President, Dr. Peter Kramer, commented: “We know how much Sylvia deserves this honor; we feel honored to have her with us, and we are happy with her!” Recommended by the British Embassy in Ecuador, Sylvia was honored in the Queen’s New Year's Honours list, which pays tribute to outstanding achievement and service.

“I am particularly happy that this recognition has been given to me for both aspects of work which are important to me - conservation in the Galapagos through the CDF and education,” Sylvia said. “If we don’t pay attention to education, we will not succeed in conservation. The more that Ecuadorians can learn about Galapagos, the more they are likely to help take care of it. Educating our youngsters is the best way to accomplish that.”

Kenyan-born Sylvia has been a member of the CDF's General Assembly since 1991 and a Board member since January 2004. From 1978 to 1990, Sylvia did a variety of research in the islands. Her current work involves linking the British School in Quito with the Escuela Tomas de Berlanga in the Galapagos through an exchange program.

Strategic change

The CDF is moving ahead with the implementation of its new strategic plan, approved by the Board in January 2006. Achieving the goals and objectives set forth in the plan will require the forging of increased efficiency and effectiveness within the CDF and among the CDF and its many partners.

The new CDF programs © CDF

To accomplish this, the Foundation has embarked on a process of self-analysis and organizational change, built around a business plan that pinpoints CDF targets and the resources it will need to meet them. This process is being led by an Executive Team, headed by the Executive Director, Graham Watkins, and including the Director of Finance and Administration, Maria Elena Guerra, as well as three new Director positions: Research, Technical Assistance, and Information and Development. Alan Tye, Felipe Cruz, and Christine Graves, respectively, have agreed to take on the responsibilities for these new positions on an interim basis. Together, the Executive Team will work to lead the CDF forward, ensuring that it maintains momentum as we begin the open process of recruitment.    
«meet the new team of directors»

Charles Darwin Foundation (aisbl), Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Tel. (+593) 5-2-526-146/147
E-mail: cdrs@fcdarwin.org.ec
Web site: www.darwinfoundation.org

Our mission: "To provide the knowledge and support to ensure the conservation
of the environment and bio-diversity of the archipelago of Galapagos,
through scientific research and complementary actions."

Subscribe  Forward to a Friend  Feedback  Unsubscribe  Privacy Policy

© 2005 Charles Darwin Foundation (aisbl), Galapagos, Ecuador. Design, text and images are the intellectual property of the CDF unless otherwise acknowledged, and copies may not be made without prior permission from CDF.