February 2008 Archives

In January 2001, the world held its breath when the tanker Jessica, loaded with 150,000 gallons of fuel, struck a reef and began breaking up in the heart of one of the most precious, famous and fragile ecosystems on earth - the Galapagos Islands. At risk were vast numbers of unique species of flora and fauna renowned through studies by Charles Darwin that contributed to his landmark theory of evolution by natural selection.

While scores of wildlife required cleaning by Galapagos National Park Service staff and volunteers, the wind and currents stepped in to narrowly avert an environmental catastrophe. Yet the sight of thousands of gallons of oil pouring into the ocean off the Galapagos island of San Cristobal triggered a determined international initiative to mitigate risks of future spills by dramatically reducing the islands' dependence on diesel fuel to generate electricity.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa today launched his country's programme to rid the use of fossil fuels on the Galapagos by 2015, an initiative led by the San Cristobal Wind Project - three giant wind turbines that will halve the island's diesel fuel imports and pave the way for further renewable energy development elsewhere in the archipelago.

Turbines installed by the San Cristobal Wind Project, an international partnership between the government of Ecuador, the UN Development Program and nine of the world's largest electricity companies (known as the e8), started supplying power on the islands last October. The system will meet 60 to 80% of electrical demand during the windy months of October, November and December.

Umbrella programme for archipelago

The San Cristobal Wind Project is the first stage of an umbrella programme supported by Equador and UNDP that will eventually bring renewable electricity - hybrid wind-diesel with some photovoltaic (solar) - to the 30,000 residents of the Galapagos archipelago's five inhabited islands.

The San Cristobal project's primary objectives:

• Reduce the risk of oil spills associated with the transport and delivery of fuel to the island;
• Reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels;
• Contribute to the protection of the region's unique biodiversity.

On a larger scale, the project is an example of multilateral collaboration for climate change mitigation and a showcase for the global promotion of small-scale renewable energy power generation and distribution systems in remote areas.

While replacing noisy, polluting diesel generators with clean, renewable wind power would seem a natural development for the world's most famous ecological site, the journey from feasibility study to construction and completion was anything but straightforward.

Lead company in the project's development, funding and implementation was American Electric Power, which provided about half of the $10.8 million funding. Some $3.2 million was provided by Ecuador and $1 million from the United Nations Foundation, coupled with contributions from the UNDP and other sources. A trust has been established to facilitate the system's ongoing training, maintenance and operation, and eventual removal.

"From day one, the overriding concern was the need to protect this invaluable place and its incredible biodiversity," says Michael G. Morris, CEO of AEP. "The e8 team approached this work with a level of caution akin to the curators responsible for da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's David."

AEP project team leader Paul Loeffelman says the lengthy feasibility study undertaken to address institutional, financial and environmental questions identified when e8 accepted the project was primarily a result of extensive monitoring and studies of the Galapagos Petrel that nests on the island.

Protecting the Petrel

One of the six endemic marine birds of the Galapagos Archipelago, the long-winged Galapagos Petrel has been declared "critically endangered" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

The petrel nests in burrows where its eggs and chicks are preyed upon by rats and cats, non-native species first introduced to the islands via pirate and other ships. Petrel nesting areas are located in the highlands of several islands, in sites with dense vegetation and soil. In recent decades, the petrel population has been seriously impacted by agricultural expansion and the associated increase in predators and other invasive species that crowd out plants supporting the petrel, particularly the endangered endemic plant Miconia.

Early in the extensive environmental investigation, the e8 project team found that the site first proposed for the turbines, San Joaquin, had active petrel nests as well as Miconia. The turbine site was changed to the hill known as El Tropezón, an agricultural area with no petrel nests and few Miconia plants.

But the effort to protect the petrel did not end there. Because petrels spend the daylight hours fishing at sea and return to the island at night, little was known about their flight paths. The e8 team undertook studies to find out if the petrel flew near the proposed wind project site.

A Bird Review Committee, formed to assess the field testing results, reported that only a few petrels had been observed flying over the project site during the five month study. It was also believed that the petrels stayed close to the ground when flying over hills such as El Tropezón, well below the sweep of the turbines' blades.

The committee concluded that although the turbines presented no significant threat to the petrel, some of the birds were being killed when they flew into transmission lines.

As a result, the project buried the transmission line near El Tropezón hill, chose turbine towers with no tension wires and minimized fencing - all to minimize potentially lethal obstructions in the petrels' flight path.

The EMP also called for a rat control programme and a long-term study of petrel flight patterns to determine whether the turbines can operate at night during the nesting season without negative impacts.

Project registered under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism

The San Cristobal Wind Project has been registered as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project under the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM is designed to help developing countries in achieving sustainable development while supporting industrialised countries in achieving compliance with their greenhouse gas reduction commitments.

The project will now receive Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits for the diesel electricity generation effectively replaced by the wind turbines.

According to project manager Luis Vintimilla of EOLICSA, the company established to operate the project, it is not possible to replace all diesel generation capacity with wind power.

"That would be ideal, but there is not enough wind year round," he said. "In particular, during four months of the year with unfavorable wind conditions, during certain hours on certain days, it will be necessary to continue using diesel generated electricity. However, it is recommended that future work be done on projects to substitute the diesel currently used with a more environmentally friendly fuel."

Project partners will formally dedicate the project at a celebration in the Galapagos March 18.

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About the e8

The e8 is a non-profit international organisation, composed of nine leading electricity companies from G8 countries, which promotes sustainable energy development through electricity sector projects and human capacity building activities in developing nations worldwide.

The e8's mission is: "To play an active role in global electricity issues and to promote sustainable development." This diverse international group offers electricity sector expertise and practical competency in electricity generation, transmission and distribution. With field proven expertise in the planning, management, design, operation and maintenance of energy facilities, member companies together provide an all-encompassing scope of the global electricity industry to assist developing countries.

Member companies of the e8:

• American Electric Power (USA)
• Electricite de France (France)
• ENEL S.p.a (Italy)
• Hydro-Quebec (Canada)
• Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc (Japan)
• Ontario Power Generation (Canada)
• RAO-UES of Russia (Russia)
• RWE AG (Germany) and
• Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc (Japan)

Project partners

ELECGALAPAGOS
Empresa Electrica Provincial Galapagos S.A. is the public owned Galapagos Electricity Utility, created in 1998. The company generates, distributes and commercialises electricity in the Galapagos Archipelago. Main owner of Elecgalapagos is the governemental Fondo de Solidaridad, in partnership with the Galapagos Provincial Council and local Municipalities. With the support of UNDP and the Ecuadorian Government, the company is implementing a programme to replace the existing diesel power plants with renewable sources. (www.elecgalapagos.com.ec)

THE UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION
The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with businessman and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support United Nations' causes. The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the UN. Through its grant making and by building new and innovative public-private partnerships, the UN Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century. (www.unfoundation.org)

UNDP
UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. They are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and their wide range of partners. (www.undp.org)

10 February 2008

Rachel Whiteread, Mark Wallinger and Dorothy Cross are among artists involved in two new programmes responding to Darwin's ideas and to the islands that inspired his theory of evolution. The Natural History Museum is working on a one-off project to commission a permanent artwork that will be installed in its iconic building in London. On the other side of the world, the Galapagos Conservation Trust is establishing an artists' research residency programme for British artists to spend time exploring both the natural wonders and current challenges of the Galapagos. Both projects have been made possible by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which has awarded significant grants to each.

Darwin's Canopy

Ten short-listed artists will work with the Museum on their proposals for Darwin's Canopy, a permanent artwork inspired by Charles Darwin's ideas and what they mean for our understanding of nature and our place within it today. One proposal will be selected and will become part of the ceiling of an inner gallery in the Grade I listed Museum. The short-listed artists are: Christine Borland, Dorothy Cross, Mark Fairnington, Susan Hiller, Alison Turnbull, United Visual Artists (Matt Clark & Chris Bird), Mark Wallinger, Richard Woods, Richard Wentworth and Rachel Whiteread.

'What I find most exciting about this shortlist is that each artist takes a very distinct approach,' said Bergit Arends, curator of contemporary art at the Natural History Museum. 'I'm looking forward to seeing their ideas take shape. This commission is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the fabric of this historic building. We hope it will offer all the artists the chance to explore new territory and concepts, and present their work to a different audience.'

Initial sketches, drawings and mock ups that illustrate each of the proposals will go on public display at the Museum from 4 June for three months and judged by a panel of art critics and curators. The judge's selected artist will be announced later in June and the artwork will be unveiled on Charles Darwin's two hundredth birthday, 12 February 2009. The project is part of the Museum's ongoing contemporary arts programme, enabling artists to develop their ideas through access to scientists and collections, complementing its world-leading scientific research.

The Gulbenkian Galapagos Artists' Residencies

The Gulbenkian Galapagos Artists' Residencies will enable up to 12 leading artists to spend time in the Galapagos archipelago to reflect on its unique nature, its historic value and current importance, and the human and conservation challenges it faces. The rare wildlife and dramatic habitats of the islands, their historical role in shaping Darwin's ideas and their pristine nature have made them a double World Heritage Site. Artists will be invited to engage with the Galapagos on their own terms, to mix with both the local and scientific communities on the islands, feel inspired to make work connected to their experiences and encouraged to share it with a wide audience.

'The islands have extraordinary resources but face threats from every angle,' said Toni Darton, Chief Executive of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, 'from the rapid growth in tourism and population in the past 15 years, to the need to control introduced species, which is why both UNESCO and the Ecuadorian government declared them at risk last year. We are always looking for new ways to raise public awareness of conservation and the issues that make Galapagos as relevant to the world today as in Darwin's time. Artists are uniquely able to express the many different aspects of the Galapagos - conveying a distinctive impression of the habitat and the threats it faces, and engaging with both the human and scientific issues.'

The residency programme will initially run for three years. It is being managed in conjunction with the Charles Darwin Foundation, the trust's key partner and the main scientific research organisation in the islands, and curated by Greg Hilty of Plus Equals. Dorothy Cross and Fiona Shaw have already visited the archipelago as a pilot for the programme, and Jyll Bradley and Marcus Coates are due to visit later this year. The Galapagos Conservation Trust will also explore opportunities to present work that arises from the artists' visits.

'The Gulbenkian Foundation relishes the opportunity to help initiate adventurous new artmaking in two very different contexts, London and the Galapagos,' said Andrew Barnett, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. 'Both projects cross boundaries between art and science and demonstrate the power of the arts in drawing on the past and reflecting on issues present and future.'

Both these projects are part of Darwin200, a national programme celebrating Charles Darwin's ideas, impact and influence around the bicentenary of his birth. www.darwin200.org

Notes for editors:

• Selected by Time Out in 2007 as one of the Seven Wonders of London, the Natural History Museum is also a world-leading science research centre. Through its collections and scientific expertise, the Museum is helping to conserve the extraordinary richness and diversity of the natural world with groundbreaking projects in 68 countries.
• The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has worked with the Natural History Museum over a long period to develop a vigorous arts programme. The Museum has also received a grant from the foundation to develop a contemporary art exhibition inspired by Darwin's book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Expressions (working title) opens at the Museum in June 2009. In addition, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is enabling students from disadvantaged areas of the UK to attend the International Student Summit about Darwin and contemporary science at the Museum in July.
• The Galapagos Artists' Residencies are being set up to establish a lasting resource for the islands and to inspire artists to reflect the complexity - political, social, scientific, environmental - of life in a territory that is under threat.
• Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the Galapagos. Established in 1995, GCT generates income for numerous projects to protect the unique biodiversity of the islands and meet the challenges of how the human population can live in balance with the special environment and wildlife. GCT also provides crucial support to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. To find out more, please visit www.savegalapagos.org.
• Lying 965 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands make up one of the most important wildlife areas in the world and became Darwin's most significant stop-off during his survey aboard HMS Beagle. His observations and discoveries of new species there became the bedrock for his theory of evolution through natural selection. Today the islands make up the second largest marine reserve in the world and are famously still home to the giant tortoise, marine iguana, flightless cormorant, blue-footed booby, waved albatross and Darwin finch.
• Both the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Galapagos Conservation Trust take their environmental commitments very seriously. Within the project plan money has been set aside for regeneration activities on the islands, to offset the carbon emissions resulting from flying the artists to the Galapagos.
• Plus Equals is an agency dedicated to brokering collaborations across creative disciplines and industries. It is directed by Greg Hilty in partnership with the University of the Arts, London. www.plusequals.com.
• The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a charitable foundation with headquarters in Lisbon and a UK branch based in London. The UK branch, established in 1956, has long held a reputation for recognising and initiating innovative ideas. The Foundation's Arts Programme focuses on supporting artists' research and development and has been a pioneer in promoting activities in which artists engage with science. Key publications are Strange and Charmed: Science and the Contemporary Visual Arts, Science, Not Art: Ten Scientists' Diaries, the award-winning Wild Reckoning: An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, and Signs and Humours: The Poetry of Medicine.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Chloe Kembery, Senior Press Officer, Natural History Museum
Tel: 020 7942 5881 Mob 07799 690 151
Email: c.kembery@nhm.ac.uk or press@nhm.ac.uk

Toni Darton, Chief Executive, Galapagos Conservation Trust
Tel: 020 7629 5049
Email: toni@gct.org

The Galapagos authorities will start applying the Transit Control Card required for all travelers flying to the islands starting on February 25th 2008. The card fee for each traveler will be 10 US dollars.

To help travelers in this process, the Galapagos National Institute (INGALA) has opened counters at Quito and Guayaquil airports in which they can buy the Transit Control Card. Local airlines and tour agencies can help passengers with more information and card registration before their departure.

For more information, please visit the Transit Control Card web page at: http://www.ingala.gov.ec/tct/. This card is a new strategy that authorities are using to control and reduce illegal immigration to Galapagos.