Kairho
01-28-2008, 10:03 AM
For anyone touring the Galápagos Islands (http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/ecuador/galapagos-islands/overview.html?inline=nyt-geo), it is hard to imagine the globe’s first World Heritage Site is at risk. The marine reserve is populated with sea turtles and humpback whales, and the national park’s trails are inhabited by herons and albatrosses.
Yet last June, Unesco (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_nations_educational_scientific_and_cultural _organization/index.html?inline=nyt-org) added the archipelago to its “in danger list,” specifically citing the fragile ecosystem and the negative effects of a sizable growth in tourism.From the New York Times. Can Darwin’s Lab Survive Success? (http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/travel/27green.html?ex=1202014800&en=a9999856cde0fa69&ei=5070&emc=eta1)
It really does worry me. I was there in the late 80's early 90's and it was pristine. In speaking with clients there this year it is not nearly as wonderful as I remember. That saddens me, I hope the government steps in and strictly curtails the number of visitors permitted.
I was just there. From what I saw of the tourists, they were doing their utmost to be careful, stay on the paths, and not leave trash, etc. In fact, from what I saw, the more the tourists saw, the more they were likely to try to be more ecologically responsible.
In the article, Mr. Flager, VOD VP said, Voyages of Discovery’s tour helped local residents even beyond the computers it donated to a school. “Some of our customers even cleaned up one of the beaches in San Cristóbal of litter one day without anyone asking them to do so,” he said, adding that Discovery’s passengers were all “moved by the grandeur of the Galápagos” and returned home as environmental ambassadors for the area.
Forget for a moment the spilled milk complaint in the article that VOD has been banned from the Galapagos, frankly because at 500 passengers his ship was way too big, and the passengers of his boat overloaded and overwhelmed the ecological system of each island they visited. The largest ship now permitted in Galapagos waters, as far as I know is Celebrity's Xpedition which carries 90 passengers. Personally I think that's about right for a maximum size. The island areas visited can easily accommodate the maximum of 7 excursion groups, not exceeding 14 people per group.
The important things I read in the quote are:
The ships' passengers were extremely concerned with the preservation of the Galapagos.
When I visited, I saw no beaches which could have benefited from a cruise passenger cleanup time, as with the raise exception of a piece of paper and a cigarette butt, the beaches were pristine.
The more tourists saw of the Galapagos, the more they became committed to preserving the environment. I saw this on our boat.Another quote in the article which interested me was that one of the causes of the crisis in the Galapagos has to do with,
“Early tourism in the Galápagos was characterized by nature-loving tourists,” the report said, seeking “to learn about Darwin and see the amazing species that helped him to develop his theory of evolution.” It noted that these guests were “easily accommodated by smaller, locally owned tour operators.”
I view this a bunk. What is being bemoaned here is that foreign companies have invested in quality boats to provide accommodations which are a major cut above the old Galapagos owned tubs. There is nothing holding back companies from the Galapgos makng similar investments themselves, with or without governmental help. What the paragraph infers is that somehow tourists who wish to have quality accommodation and good food are therefore somehow less interested in the environment, science, and history. I say that concern is ridiculous. Every passenger in our boat was extremely interesting in these topics, and in preserving the Galapagos from future generations.
Who's fault is it that only 15% of the tourism revenue generated by Galapagos tourism is captured by Galapagos residents. It's certainly not the foreign tour and cruise companies. It's the fault of the government of the Galapagos and Ecuador, and the private sector of the countries. They haven't made the necessary investment, because they didn't think they had to.
There are exception to the rule, concerning the local economy. For example our boat purchased all its food locally from markets and fisherman from the Galapagos. In addition, all employees who worked on the Xpedition, save three, were Ecuadorian.
At some point the Galapagos must limit the total number of tourist visiting yearly. There is no doubt at that.
To my mind the major problems at hand are:
The introduction of non-indigenous flora and fauna mostly brought to the islands via Ecuadorians from the mainland.
Too many people living on the islands chewing up island resources.
Local commerce producing goods and services, often of such a low quality that no tourist will purchase from them.If the Galapagos want to preserve the islands, I believe they must:
At some point soon cap the number of tourists who can visit the Galapagos in any one week, and devise a method to police the same.
Cap the maximum number of passengers in a boat touring the Galapagos at 99.
Cap the number of cruise licenses granting permission to tour the Galapagos to a reasonable number.
Require all ships and boats to conform to specific environmental regulations.
Create a method of enforcement to ensure that all visitors to the Galapagos, touring by land or boat have the required permits, anchor only in approved locations, visit only approved locations, on approved islands, and have the requisite naturalist guide. There is a $17,000 fine, for example, if you go ashore without a guide, or anchor in an unapproved location, but enforcement of private vessels is terribly lax and it's severely costing the Galapagos. Dr. Watkins said, "People moving from island to island in boats makes it harder for us to put up barriers to prevent the introduction of new invasive species or infection." That's true and a real problem, and currently the permitting and inspection enforcement of the Galapagos is monumentally lax, except in the case of the "rich foreign-owned" cruise lines.
Beef up enforcement preventing non-indigenous species from entering the Galapagos and finish the program of eradicating non-indigenous species.
Cut the population of the Galapagos in half or less, as the current population cannot possibly be sustained by the islands.I could go on and on, but the gist seems obvious to me. The governments of the Galapagos and Ecuador just haven't been doing their job, so they seem to be taking the easy way out, as are environmentalists, and are putting the blame on the new eco-tourist, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions and lack of enforcement of their already existing laws, rules and regulations. As far as I'm concerned, to put it a little on the nice side, it's a bunch of baloney from what I saw first hand last month that eco-tourists and foreign companies are to blame for the crisis in the Galapagos. In fact, they may be the ones who end up saving the Galapagos with their responsible tourism, and their investment.