Ecuador OKs protections for Galapagos Islands

A local looks forward to a safer future

March 12, 1998
Web posted at: 8:09 p.m. EST (0109 GMT)

By Environmental News Network staff

The Ecuadorian government on March 6 approved a series of sweeping protective measures for the Galapagos Islands.

World Wildlife Fund applauded Ecuadorian President Fabian Alarcon's decision and hailed the law as the biggest milestone toward conserving the world famous archipelago in the last half century. The Galapagos Conservation Law -- signed by the president despite strong opposition -- establishes extensive protective measures for the islands made famous by the work of naturalist Charles Darwin.

The new Galapagos Conservation Law strengthens protection of the islands by:

• expanding the protected waters around the archipelago from 15 miles to 40 miles;
• banning industrial-scale fishing within protected waters;
• limiting permanent resident status to Ecuadorians who have been on the islands for five years or more;
• approving the island's first inspection and quarantine system to combat "invader" species such as rats and goats. These invader species threaten the food supply of unique species like the giant Galapagos tortoises that have lived without natural predators for more than a millennium; and
• mandating that 50 percent of tourist dollars support island conservation.

"These islands mean so much to the world," said WWF's President Kathryn Fuller. "They are home to magnificent species found nowhere else on Earth. They remain an irreplaceable living laboratory of evolution for scientists, and a precious part of humanity's living legacy."

As part of its Living Planet Campaign, WWF has been calling on governments and business leaders around the world to make "Gifts to the Earth" -- special actions in the remaining days of this century to protect the world's most outstanding wildlife and wildlands. With its passage, the Galapagos Conservation Law is the latest "Gift to the Earth."

"We applaud President Alarcon and the Congress making this important Gift to the Earth at this critical time for these extraordinary islands," Fuller added.

Protecting the Galapagos Islands is a 'Gift to the Earth'

Known for its role in Darwin's theory of evolution, the Galapagos Islands are home to one of the most distinct arrays of wildlife species on Earth, including the Galapagos tortoises, Darwin's finches, and the marine iguana.

World Wildlife Fund and other conservation organizations, including Fundacion Natura and the Charles Darwin Foundation, have been pressing for tougher laws to protect the Galapagos as the marine resources of the islands were increasingly over-exploited by international fishing companies.

The population of the islands more than doubled in the last 10 years because of migration from the Ecuadorian mainland. This migration brought many foreign plant and animal species that have threatened native flora and fauna. Until now, the islands have had no system of inspection and quarantine.

WWF's Galapagos Coordinator Miguel Pellerano called the step a significant conservation victory.

"This law will go a long way toward ensuring that future generations can witness the wonder of the Galapagos," said Pellerano.

Copyright 1998, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

Related ENN Stories:

• Study documents new threats to Galapagos Islands
• Galapagos plant threatened by the Curse of India
• Ecuador urged to maintain order in Galapagos

Related sites:

• The Galapagos, pressures on paradise
  
• Charles Darwin Research Station
  

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