WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE DELEGATION TO VISIT GALAPAGOS
At the invitation of the Government of Ecuador, a World Heritage Centre delegation led by its director, Francesco Bandarin, will visit Galápagos on April 14 - 16. Members of the delegation will be talking to many people who live and work in the islands, including those involved in managing the Park and the Marine Reserve.
During their short visit they will meet, amongst others, the director of the Galapagos National Park, the governor and the leading elected politician of the province, the mayor of Santa Cruz, the staff of the National College, the fishermen's cooperative of Santa Cruz, representatives from Capturgal and the director of the Charles Darwin Foundation. On the 15th they will move to San Cristobal, via Santa Fe, so as to get to know a visitor site.
"We are going to Galapagos at invitation of the Government of Ecuador," said Director Bandarin. "As director of the World Heritage Centre, I am privileged, from time to time to be invited to get to know some of these outstanding sites. Today there are 788 sites in 134 countries on the World Heritage list. Amongst these, Galapagos is still one of the best known, if not the best known of them all," said the director from his office in Paris. "Ecuadorians are privileged to be the owners of this wonder of the world and over the years have shown exceptional leadership in conserving the islands' treasures."
The director stressed that the object of the visit was not to produce a technical evaluation of the conservation status of the site. "Yes, we have received some worrying reports about the situation in Galapagos and we will pay attention to what people want to tell us, but it is for the World Heritage Committee, during its meeting next July, to decide whether a technical evaluation of the state of conservation of the islands is needed."
In 1957, recognising the unique value of the islands, the Government of Ecuador invited UNESCO to undertake a scientific study to see how the islands could best be protected. At that time there were no more than 1,000 inhabitants. The National Park was established in 1959 and to strengthen conservation, UNESCO led the efforts to create the Charles Darwin Foundation which, ever since, has been providing important scientific support to the Park. "The Galapagos National Park, in its relentless work under difficult conditions has, little by little, been very successful in the conservation and good management of the islands and thus has built over the years an international reputation for its professional and technical skills," said the director.
UNESCO supported with much interest the processes leading to the Special Law for Galapagos which was approved by the Ecuadorian Congress in March 1998. "This law is the treasure of the Galapaguenos," said the director. "It establishes the legal framework, the decision-making processes and the principal players in this very special site." The Law ensures that there is order in the way that all activities are planned in the islands, from tourism to agriculture and fishing. "Without order there is chaos - and out of chaos comes the rule of the most aggressive," stressed the director.
The World Heritage Centre frequently cites the Galapagos National Park Service as a role model for the management of protected areas. "Tourism in Galapagos has grown enormously over the last 15 years. I learn that in 2004, there were 90,000 tourists! Under these conditions, the Park has been able to maintain first-class standards of control over access to the Park," said the director.
UNESCO has also been supporting work to control invasive species, sending nearly $5million to the islands over the last five years. "I understand that this work is not only finding ways to control invasive species which endanger the environment, but is also dealing with dangers to human health, such as the mosquito which spreads malaria and dengue fever, dealing with blackfly and with diseases of domestic animals. Eradicating the pigs from Santiago could be considered as the most important international conservation achievement of the decade," declared Banderin.
The director will be in Quito from Monday to Wednesday, 11 - 13 April, and will also take part in an international meeting dealing with the possible creation of a transfrontier World Heritage Site called Qapa Ñan or Camino Inca.
For further information, call Marc Patry: +33 1-45-68-17-88.
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