Recently in People Category

On 28 January the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) presented its 2009 Annual Report and Flagship Initiatives for 2010 at Quito's Botanical Garden. Representatives from major local, national and international institutions were in attendance.

Environment Minister, Marcela Aguinaga, and Dr Lopez

During the event, Dr. J. Gabriel Lopez, CDF's Executive Director, highlighted the foundation's achievements during 2009, as well as the new conservation and development challenges facing Galapagos.

Dr. Lopez reported that as an integral part of facing these challenges, in 2010 the Foundation will further strengthen its three flagship programmes launched in 2009. These include measuring the "human footprint" in the archipelago, better understanding the impacts of climate change in Galapagos to inform decision-making on adaptation, and furthering its comprehensive restoration of Floreana Island at the southern end of the island chain.  Dr Lopez also emphasised the importance of "working in a coordinated manner with Ecuadorean government agencies, academic centres of excellence, local actors, and the private sector for the conservation and sustainable development of Galapagos."

In his address, CDF Board President Pablo Iturralde Barba, brought attention to the importance of the Foundation's volunteer and scholarship programme, through which more than 1,100 young people from Galapagos and continental Ecuador have been trained at different stages of their careers. Many have continued their education, graduating with master's degrees and doctorates, and are now working in high-level positions in Ecuador and abroad.

CDF also launched a new "Partners for Galapagos" campaign that aims to bring together public and private enterprise in support of the organization's vital conservation efforts in the Galapagos archipelago.

Many GCT supporters will have heard the sad news that Lady Philippa Scott, a former vice president of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, has died. Lady Scott was the widow of leading conservationist, Sir Peter Scott, and had supported GCT since the very beginning.

Waved Albatross - Lady Philippa Scott

Seen here is a beautiful Waved Albatross image, just one of the many that Lady Scott donated to GCT's slide library.

Julian Fitter, a founder of GCT and current Ambassador writes:
Serendipity is a word that comes to mind when thinking of Phil's marriage to Peter Scott. Peter, the son of Antarctic Explorer Robert Falcon Scott, was extremely successful in many ways, and not the easiest person to be married to. Phil though with her South African upbringing brought just the right ingredients to their partnership. Not content to simply be a supporter of the 'Peter Scott show', though she certainly was, she developed her own interests and skills, which in their turn enabled Peter to achieve so much.

Phil was an accomplished photographer, illustrating several of Peter's books, a keen Scuba diver, and a passionate conservationist with a particular interest in the Antarctic and the great whales. After Peter's untimely death she continued to be an important part of the Slimbridge team championing  conservation. Her support for Galapagos, as a Vice-President of the Galapagos Conservation Trust was typical of her wide interests and strong commitment.

Phil was one of the last of the generation of conservation pioneers, people who were born before the word conservation was used in relation to the environment. We owe Phil and her fellow pioneers a huge debt in waking us up to the dangers the natural world is facing, and we owe it to her to continue the fight.

Julian Fitter
Maketu, New Zealand
22 January 2010

According  to the Charles Darwin Foundation's Stuart Banks, one in five of the 43 threatened Galapagos marine species may already be extinct.

In a landmark article published today by respected science journal, Global Change Biology, Stuart Banks, Senior Marine Scientist with the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), headquartered in Galapagos, teams with the world´s leading marine researchers in calling for increased focus on the forces of climate change.

CDF scientists researching coral reefs. Photo © CDF

Banks asserts that: "Galapagos is well-known for being unique, but what is less apparent is how tenuous the archipelago's unique status really is."  He reveals that of the 43 threatened Galapagos marine species, one in five may already be extinct.

The article provides an in-depth analysis of major studies charting changes in Galapagos biodiversity and marine ecosystems over the past 30 years.  Former CDF Marine Sciences Director and ongoing CDF collaborator Graham Edgar of the University of Tasmania led the development of the paper bringing together such luminaries as Sylvia Earle; National Geographic Society, and Peter Glynn, University of Miami, Les Kaufmann, Boston University, and CDF´s Stuart Banks.

In a sobering snapshot, Banks explains that:  "The unpredictable mix of El Niño, increased human presence, and global climate change is a recipe for the breakdown of natural ecological functions with serious impact on the recovery potential of species and habitats."
The article cites the Galapagos Marine Reserve as being "a near ideal environment for quantifying effects of oceanographic anomalies and fisheries on marine biodiversity, and for modeling future impacts of climate change," areas of study currently being addressed by CDF's Galapagos Climate Change Initiative.

This major new body of investigation takes a much-needed step in understanding the ties between climate, biodiversity, and the human impact, and will combine new and historical data to increase understanding of these relationships.


 

CDF's technical director, Felipe Cruz, took part in E-Day 2009 in the Isles of Scilly earlier this year. You can see Felipe on YouTube below.

Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, The Guardian Weekly's website featured an article by GCT's chief executive, Toni Darton, on its front page.

In the article Toni describes her passion for Galapagos: "Whilst I have always taken an active interest in the natural world it was my passion for Galapagos that actually brought me to this role. I had wanted to visit Galapagos for many years and when I achieved this dream in 2005 I saw at first hand how amazing yet how fragile the Islands are and the work going on to conserve them. I signed up as a member of the Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) and the rest as they say is history."

Please click here to see the complete article.