ISSUES IN GALAPAGOS

The Galapagos Islands are unique - they are probably the only place in the world where we can get a flavour of how the world was before humans.

There are several key reasons why we should be protecting the Galapagos:

The Galapagos national park and marine reserve are unique and extraordinary ecosystems. These two protected areas embody high levels of endemism and represent the best conserved of the world's tropical archipelagos. In addition, the islands are an integral part of western philosophy since Charles Darwin's visit in 1835 and because of subsequent critical studies that have helped us understand microevolution and speciation. As a consequence, the national park and marine reserve are iconic model conservation sites and are recognised as such by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. In 2007 UNESCO added Galapagos to their list of World Heritage in Danger.

In common with other oceanic island systems, the Galapagos Islands are fragile. Galapagos biodiversity is susceptible to invasive species, over exploitation, climate change and major pollution events. To date, the biodiversity has been remarkably well conserved as a result of the relatively minimal interaction between the islands and global human processes.

Human activities cause changes in fragile island ecosystems like the Galapagos. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the islands were havens for pirates chasing Incan gold. In the 19th century, whalers and fur sealers harvested for international markets. These interactions resulted in substantial alterations in ecosystems as species, such as giant tortoises, were over harvested and as invasive mammal and plant species were introduced. Invasive species remain today, as the major threat to native terrestrial biodiversity. Today, a myriad of invasive plants (including quinine trees, guava and blackberries) and animals (including goats, pigs, dogs, cats and rats) inhabit the islands. Twenty four percent of plant species and 50% of vertebrate species are still considered as endangered and are problems from earlier times.

Today, there are new demands on the biodiversity of the islands. Economic growth and unregulated development threaten the fragile ecosystem. Socio-political demands to increase local access to natural resources and public services have grown with the increasing human population; these demands have created new social and political stresses in the islands. The islands are in an accelerating cycle of economic and population growth driven by the growth in tourism. This cycle has, in turn, increased threats to biodiversity through higher probabilities of arrival of invasive species and more frequent pollution events. Some of the new potential threats to biodiversity, including avian malaria, West Nile Fever and Bird Flu, may have highly damaging and unpredictable consequences.

The Galapagos Islands are a microcosm of the social, political, ecological and economic changes occurring in the world. Throughout the world, human populations are increasing and demands for natural resources are consequently changing. Substantial ecological changes are occurring in the resource base, frequently driven by globalisation and liberalisation of markets. In addition, it has become increasingly recognised that all of these changes are occurring in a complicated socio-political and cultural environment.

If we can achieve a balance between the needs of humans and the natural world in Galapagos, we can do it elsewhere and the archipelago can provide a model for sustainability for the whole world.

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