The Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands

1. Background

   • Declared at risk in 2007
   • Needed for a variety of immediate conservation
   • Recommended to be added to UNESCO's list of world heritage in danger to support conservation
   • Removed from the list of world heritage in danger in 2010

2. Invasive species

   • Greatest threat
   • 95% of native species intact
   • Minimal prediction or competition
   • isolation makes the native plants and animals vulnerable
   • Minimal predation or competition
   • Threats from exotics in marine environments
   • Increase of ocean traffic
   • 36 vertebrate species introduxed
   • 750 palnts introduced
   • 90% of plant species brought deliberately by humans for agriculture or ornamental purposes

3. Combating invasive species

   • Aimed at the goat population
   • Inspections of cargo ships
   • Biological control
   • Education programs to increase awareness of the threat and participantion

4. Endangered species

   • Flora and fauna is attractive for visitors
   • Caused by;
     • Habitat loss and or fragmentation
     • Arrival of invasive species
     • Introduction of agents of infection
     • Hunting
     • Increase of tourism
     • Global warming

5. Protection of endangered species

   • Giant tortoises - breeding, rearing, nest protection in the wild
   • Land iguanas - breeding, rearing, cat control
   • Galapagos petrels - nest protection
   • flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins and flamingos - regular population census
   • Mangrove finch and Floean mockingbird - breeding and rearing
   • Endemic flora - protective fencing, eradication of introduced herbivores, reforestation

6. Biosecutiry

   • the application of policies and systems to protect a specific area or population from biological harm
   • used to prevent and mitigate disease, pests and bioterrorism
   • has major economic and social implications for; Environment & Biodiversity, Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Water supplies and Recreation
   • Introduced in an attempt to ensure that ecosystems and ecologies as well as human communities are maintained
   • Main concern is the introduction and establishment of aggressive invasive species
   • 3 key components
     • Inspection and quarantine (prevention)
     • control and eradication of both newly arrived and established invasive species (mitigation)
     • Building community awareness, support and participation for these programs (prevention or mitigation)

7. Poaching

   • Illegal fisheries
   • sharks protected
   • Patrolling within 40 miles of the island
   • satellite vessel monitoring system are used to track the position and speed of large vessels within the reserve

8. Tourism and Population growth

   • 14% tourism increase a year
   • increase in tourism requires increase in infrastructure and human resources
   • resulting in growth in local enterprises increasing immigration
   • Caused by heavy government expenditure during Ecuador's oil boom
   • Since 1960's tourism was key to population growth
   • 2007= 25,000 legal residents, 18,000 temporary residents and 5,000 irregular residents

9. Education

   • Serves 5,200 primary and secondary pupils
   • 20 schools
   • Weak teacher base
   • School infrastructure is inadequate
   • Environmental themes not in the curriculum

10. Impacts of population growth

    • Monitoring visitor sites and closing sites
    • More oil brought to island increasing the risk of oil spliis
    • Rapid growth in physical infrastructure
    • demand for public services
    • now 3 airports
    • From few flights a week to 6 flights a day
    • new access routes