ZECO TRAVEL TALK

In May 2007, I represented Zegrahm Expeditions at an annual conference of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. “IGTOA is a nonprofit association of travel companies, conservation organizations, and other groups that seek a lasting protection of the Galápagos Islands. We lobby for conservation, fund projects, and promote and practice sustainable tourism.” http://www.igtoa.org

The conference involved several presentations, conservation workshops, and funding proposals for the Galápagos Islands (the islands are considered a living marvel of evolution and are located approximately 600 miles directly west of Ecuador following the Equator). Most importantly though, and preceding UNESCO’s recent World Heritage in Danger declaration, the meeting involved heated debates on what the travel industry can do to alleviate the surmounting threats towards the conservation of the “Enchanted Isles.”

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee declared that the islands and their surrounding marine reserve are threatened by invasive species, tourism, and immigration. A fourth obvious threat is corruption but this has politely (or politically) been omitted, perhaps because the Ecuadorian Government, aware of the environmental and social issues affecting the archipelago, also declared the Galápagos “at risk.” Legally or illegally, as the number of travelers to the Galápagos has increased by 150 percent over the past 15 years so does proportionally the local population of the Galápagos. Can we only assume the same for devastating species?

At the IGTOA conference the main roundtable discussion, lasting two days into the conference, centered on how Galápagos tour operators, the Charles Darwin Foundation, and the Galápagos National Park could join together to protect the fragile islands from the future growth of tourism. Methods were proposed on how to control tourism development in order to slow down the introduction of new and devastating species it brings, as well as curb the incoming population growth that are following the tourists but staying on. In the meantime, greater funding was reviewed in order to shore up the fields of science, conservation, administration, regulation, and enforcement that are being left behind. In the end, we created closer ties for Galápagos and all agreed that the islands are at a “critical crossroads.”

Since the IGTOA conference, UNESCO released the following on June 26, 2007: “The World Heritage Committee today inscribed the Galápagos (Ecuador) … on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger with a view to mobilizing support for their conservation. Inscribed in 1978, the Galápagos is the first site to have been placed on the World Heritage List.” http://whc.unesco.org

Yes, the Galápagos Islands are indeed rushing towards the most important junction of its evolutionary history: survival or extinction. How fast this happens and whether or not serious decisions are taken now will determine whether this fragile terrestrial and marine ecosystem withstands our human impact. There is still so much more ACTION required to avoid the slow blindness that could result in a crossroads accident which—too late—wipes out these precious islands forever.