Conservation

This is the first of two articles on issues facing the Galapagos Islands.  These appeared recently in our annual report to members.

In 2007 UNESCO moved the Galapagos Islands to its World Heritage in Danger List. It cited invasive species, human migration and settlement, uncontrolled tourism growth, and the failure of governmental institutions to deal with these threats.

Threats Facing the Galapagos

Simply stated, all pressures are still there and are increasing, especially tourism and governance.

As Gabriel López, the new Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation, recently warned:

“If the current pattern of growth is not altered, we face the loss of the natural treasures that make Galapagos unique.”

Now we must add the increased risk of climate change, which, like an El Niño event, can have devastating effects on the islands.  See the IGTOA report on this.

You can read more in depth with 2009 edition of Critical Issues in Galapagos, published by Galapagos Conservancy, Charles Darwin Foundation, and the Galapagos National Park.

If you haven’t yet, view the IGTOA video, Challenges Facing Galapagos and accompanying videos on best practices.

Some Positive Developments

Over the past three years, there has also been progress. Just this past month, a UNESCO monitoring group visited the islands and reported progress in several areas, particularly the threat of introduced species of plants and animals.

There are new controls, such as screening luggage for organic materials and spraying aircraft for insects. There are also plans for a new facility on the mainland where cargo boats can be inspected before they leave for the islands.

The eradication of goats from Islabela Island has been heralded as a major environmental achievement. And now there is a 5-year program for the restoration of Floreana Island.

With the introduction of immigration control cards, Illegal immigration has slowed down, though not been halted.

There is a new recognition of the need for culture building among the resident population. Although the educational system is still inadequate, some modest steps have been taken. IGTOA, for instance, funded a pilot project for an environmental education program.

Vessel Monitoring System

One of the most positive developments uses global positioning technology to monitor the Marine Reserve. After several years of work, the National Park Service, WildAid, the Ecuadorian navy and Conservation International launched a successful Vessel Monitoring System (VMS).

A small GPS unit is placed on all fishing, tourism, cargo and patrol boats over twenty tons. Boats regularly transmit their position, and a control center in the Park Service can view any boat’s location at any time.

This is a tremendous step forward. The Park can now detect illegal fishing by industrial fleets entering the Marine Reserve. It also benefits the local people by protecting fisheries and saving lives by giving the pinpoint position of boats in danger.

All smaller vessels are scheduled to join the system in the coming year. We’ll be describing an extension of this system in our discussion on project funding.

Issues with Galapagos Tourism

Coming soon, we’ll have an important discussion of the growth of tourism and IGTOA’s response.

IGTOA donated $10,000 to the Scalesia Foundation for a pilot project in environmental education at the Tomas de Berlanga School.

Thanks to the support of IGTOA,130 students and their respective families, 25 teachers and 100 people of diverse audiences were exposed to fundamental environmental education concepts, fundamental for a Galapagos’ citizen: efficient water use, trash and recycling, fertile soil and organic products, marine life and its relation with land environments, between others.

The TBS started a pilot project for critical thinking using the scientific method and applied to environmental issues that were thought, should be part of the knowledge of global citizens that live in a World Natural Heritage Site and National Park like the Galapagos Islands.

Methods

As part of a inter institutional effort, Scalesia Foundation and TBS´s teachers worked with scientists of other local institutions in order to identify topics assigned to each grade according to curricular structure. A team of teachers, educational experts and conservation volunteers worked in the designed of a program for each grade. The implementation phase took place between April 2009 and January 2010, according to Galapagos´ Academic Calendar.

During the implementation phase, TBS’s students, between 4 and 12 years old, devoted two hours per week to explore and implement short scientific experiments that triggered environmental awareness and the use of science as a practical tool to understand and generate solutions for local environmental challenges.

Each academic year at TBS was assigned a topic of environmental importance according to the academic curriculum. Students worked on experiments as well as discussions, debates, and critical thinking exercises focused on awakening the recognition of their role as part of a specific environmental challenge and how changes in daily routine and consumer practices can turn an individual into an active contributor.

Results

One hundred and thirty students have: (a) used the scientific method and critical thinking exercises to understand global and local environmental problems and (b) they have explored and discovered how their daily life practices can become part of local and global solutions to environmental challenges. Annex 1 includes pictures of the process of implementation.

Through the project the school’s community has been exposed to a more personal analysis of the World’s and Galapagos’ environmental challenges. Twenty teachers, one hundred thirty students and their parents have been empowered to become active contributors of a solution.

Teachers at TBS were trained and were able to successfully implement the pilot project.

The Environmental Education Program was finished and implemented during academic year 2009-2010. The Program is the base over which TBS is building additional initiatives. Annex 2 describes some of the initiatives that are now taking place at TBS.

The Huffington Post has announced a new series called Our Oceans. They will “be bringing you in-depth coverage of all matters of challenges and threats facing oceans. Climate change is a core issue that the Green page focuses on, but many marine experts argue that the health of the seas is just as critical to the fate of our planet as the rising temperatures caused by climate change.”

Huffington Post’s Green Editor, Katherine Goldstein, writes:

“In addition to creating our own content and inviting our esteemed bloggers to write on the subject, I’ll also be bringing you exclusive online media coverage of Mission Blue, TED Prize Winner Sylvia Earle’s wish for the oceans.

Part of her prize is that she’s granted any wish - hers is to bring activists, scientists, experts and thought-leaders together to educate them and the larger public about the challenges facing our oceans. Her 5-day conference in the Galapagos islands has the goals of raising awareness and rallying political will to create a worldwide system of marine protected areas.

HuffPost Green readers can expect photo and video coverage of both the conference and the nature expeditions, Q and A’s, and blogs from participants. We will also have a Mission Blue twitter page as a one-stop shop to find out everything that’s happening with the TED conference and Twitter feeds from ocean conservation groups and news organizations.”

Join in the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #missionblue

The tourist yacht, Alta, ran around while entering the harbor at Puerto Ayora, on the southern coast of Santa Cruz Island. Sixteen Canadian passengers and eight crew members were evacuated from the ship with no injuries reported. There were no reports of leakage from the 3,500 gallons of fuel on board. The yacht remains on the reef, while its fuel tanks are being drained. The boat is owned by Quasar Nautica Expeditions.

Associated Press report

Ecuadorian press report

Galapagos Conservancy / Feb 03, 2010

Team of Veterinarians Prepare Hybrid Tortoises for Release on Pinta Island in 2010

In November 2009, a group of veterinarians, working with the Galapagos National Park (GNP), prepared 39 hybrid tortoises slated to be the pioneer group to initiate the return of tortoises to Pinta Island. Project Pinta is a multi-year project aimed at the restoration of the island following the successful eradication of goats on Pinta in 2003. While complete island restoration will require the eventual repopulation of Pinta with a reproductive tortoise population, scientists and managers are awaiting the final results from genetic analyses of a massive sampling of tortoises before making the final selection of which tortoises to use.

Read more