Galapagos News

2012 Marks the World Heritage Convention’s 40th Anniversary

On November 16, 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the World Heritage Convention. It was an historic milestone: The treaty was a giant step forward in helping to protect and conserve those places around the planet that “through their natural beauty or cultural resonance have left an indelible mark on humanity’s collective imagination.”

First Time in the Galápagos: Conservation Issues Get Real

Those of us who travel often find out that there is no better way to prove yourself, to test your most fondly held beliefs, and to discover which issues mean the most to you than by stepping outside your normal routine and comfort zone. So when I had an opportunity to travel to the Galápagos Islands in January, I felt I was up to the challenge of venturing about as far away from my everyday life as I could get.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria More Prevalent in Galápagos Wildlife Living Close to Humans

Reptile Magazine reported this week that land and marine iguanas —as well as giant tortoises — living next to tourist sites or human settlements on the Galápagos Islands are more likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those that live in more remote or protected locations.

Fossils Collected on Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Voyage Just Discovered

Curiosity can lead to wondrous things, as every scientist knows. And it certainly did recently for Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang at the British Geological Survey.

Charles Darwin Foundation and WildAid Beneficiaries of 2012 IGTOA Traveler Funding Program

Two non-profit organizations in the Galapagos Islands learned this month that they will get a financial boost from the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA).