In 1985, the Charles Darwin Foundation created the Darwin Scientific Foundation in the United States to manage an endowment built with The Nature Conservancy and the Smithsonian. It allowed American donors to make tax-deductible contributions and gave scientific work in Galápagos stable, long-term funding that still endures four decades later.

Andrea Daniela Coloma is a marine bird researcher and devoted mother of two, proving that science and motherhood can thrive side by side. Discover how her passion for conservation, rooted in the Galapagos, intersects with family life—and how the Charles Darwin Foundation supports this meaningful balance. Read her story.

The new Galápagos Atlas 2026 offers a 309-page look at 68 species and species groups, combining purpose-built distribution maps with something rarely found in a reference guide: a clear record of what scientists still don’t know. Free to explore online, it highlights critical knowledge gaps and invites future research to strengthen conservation.

In a joint effort to protect the unique biodiversity of the islands, representatives from the public and private sectors, NGOs, transport cooperatives, and local governments gathered to understand the factors and solutions to reduce bird mortality on the roads of Galápagos caused by vehicles, the road connecting Puerto Ayora to the Itabaca Channel is of great importance as it passes through protected and productive areas of the island.

In a joint effort to protect the unique biodiversity of the islands, representatives from the public and private sectors, NGOs, transport cooperatives, and local governments gathered to understand the factors and solutions to reduce bird mortality on the roads of Galápagos caused by vehicles, the road connecting Puerto Ayora to the Itabaca Channel is of great importance as it passes through protected and productive areas of the island.

In Galapagos, 83% of the landmass falls within the arid zone. Restoring plant communities in this zone is challenging and slow, and natural regeneration in severely degraded areas is very limiting. Our scientists work to restore the arid habitat across various islands in the archipelago, notably Baltra Island, which has undergone significant human alteration, and special use sites such as garbage dumps and quarries on inhabited islands.