The establishment of the Biopreserve is a statement of world recognition of the need to preserve the Galapagos archipelago. The primary purpose of the committee is the implementation of the unified preservation strategy that is specified below. This strategy encompasses the conservation goals to impede the depletion of the natural resources and support preservation of the native flora and fauna. The initiatives outlined below focus on the major threats to the natural environment, which include: invasive species, poaching, tourist activities, farming, fishing, immigration, and the threats to the marine environment. The plan draws upon the current actions of NGO’s and government-affiliated organizations. In addition, the committee will supplement their actions with increased funding and some new initiatives. In time with the full realization of this proposal the Galapagos Biopreserve will continue to be among the pristine locations in the world.

Background
   The introduction of foreign species has plagued the Galapagos for a very long time. The first report of goats on the islands dates back to the 17th century. Since then, a multitude of animals foreign to the native population have made their way onto the islands. Animals such as wild dogs, cattle, pigs, rats, and red fire ants have plagued the fragile islands. While cattle and goats trample native vegetation, dogs have been known to kill five hundred iguanas at once, and red fire ants feast upon the flesh of the Galapagos tortoises.

Current Management
   Much has been done to alleviate the problems brought upon the islands from invasive species. In an effort to restore the native population, tortoise eggs have been protected and they have also been sent to Santa Cruz for captive raising and repatriation. As a result of the intensive hunting programs by the Galapagos National Park Service, goats have been eradicated from six of the smaller and medium sized islands (Espanola, Santa Fe, Rabida, Marchena, South Plazas, and Pinta). The Isabela Project, whose primary purpose is the eradication of goats, has proven successful. In areas where variable densities of goats have been encountered, there has been a 90 to 100% removal of animals in these areas. There are currently programs focusing on eradicating fire ants that have proven successful that began in 2000. By the year 2002, endemic ant species that were previously displaced by fire ants have repopulated the areas that have been rid of fire ants. SICGAL is currently carrying out the control of invasive species entering the islands. A list of permissible items allowed to enter the islands currently exists, allowing certain, carefully inspected animals, seeds, and organic foods to enter the islands and forbidding fresh plants entrance onto the islands enter. There is also inadequate fumigation of entering cargo ships. There is currently no systematic or thorough control in either departure or entry sea ports for the islands, due to a lack of permanent base facilities in airports and ports, and lack of defined and approved regulation involving participation of the Army and other sectors, such as tourism operators. There is actual control based on visual and manual observation by inspectors while there are no X-ray machines or sniffing dogs. Necessary sanitation conditions in ports or cargo boats are not met; therefore ships are not purged of potential invasive species that may have unintentionally boarded ship before the ship’s landing.

Methods for Improvement
   Though there is much being done to eradicate the goat population and some of the 250 species of insects that have been introduced onto the islands, not nearly as much has been done to eradicate other invasive species. Species such as cats and pigs continue to roam the islands. Many of the cats that roam the islands are known to eat the iguanas. More programs need to be implemented that focus on the eradication of other species. All of the introduced species are causing some level of degree of destruction to the islands. Considering the fragility of the islands and the native fauna, the smallest degree of destruction can be extremely detrimental to the animals of the Galapagos. There needs to exist improved technologies used to search cargo for invasive species by increasing funds to invasive species control efforts in order to buy X-ray machines, train search dogs to find hidden prohibited items, and to improve fumigation processes. Communications between Army and tourist/fishing sectors need improvement to ensure that no gaps are left in regulating the control of cargo into the islands. Encouraging sustainable food resources (such as sustainable agriculture and fishing) on the islands will result in the need of fewer food products being shipped to the islands, therefore limiting the numbers of cargo ships that need to enter the islands and reducing the chances that species are accidentally introduced. The residents should be educated and informed about the threats of introducing forbidden animals and products into the islands, so that they are more aware of what not to bring back with them to the islands. Improving the thoroughness of cargo inspections in the ships traveling from island to island will prevent the spread of invasive species within the islands. Another objective is to reduce the need for inter-island travel by improving telecommunications.
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Background
   Poaching, which is defined as illegal fishing or hunting, has posed a major problem to the Galapagos Islands for years. The tortoise, one of the Galapagos’ most precious species has been one of the primary species that has been hunted. Since the 1600’s tortoises were sought as a means of invaluable fresh meat. There have been incidents of tortoises being slaughtered of the Island of Isabela, where as many as eighty-one giant tortoises have been killed at the hands of humans. Over the centuries, approximately 100,000 tortoises have been hunted. Since 1990, about 120 have been killed by poachers. Poaching has since then declined from a combination of government control and their value to the tourism industry, but it still remains a problematic issue. Tortoises are not the only species that have endured such cruelty. There have been incidents of sea lions enduring such acts of foul play, at once there being thirty-five sea lions found slaughtered, their genitals and teeth taken for use of aphrodisiacs. Though poaching remains a serious issue among the Galapagos tortoises, their lives are also threatened by angry fishermen. There have been incidents in the past where tortoises have been held hostage or their lives have been threatened by irate fishermen demanding larger quotas on sea cucumbers, another species that faces extinction.

Current Management
   In more recent news, poaching has been monitored and poachers have been caught on many occasions. Sea Shepherd International has been working with the Galapagos Islands in combating poaching. The sea shepherds patrol the waters in lookout of strange activity. This project began in 2001 and is scheduled to end in 2005.

Methods for Improvement
   Though the Galapagos, in partnership with Sea Shepherd International, has been actively combating poaching, especially in the marine reserve, the project is ephemeral, as it will expire within the next year. The intensity of poaching may rise to its previous levels, especially considering that the displeasure of the fishermen may put Galapagos animals at risk. After this project expires, there should be increased security in the marine reserve area and more officials and park rangers on the lookout for strange activities such as poaching. Issues such as this can only be ameliorated by constant patrolling and the awareness of the park rangers and officials.
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Background
   Since the discovery of the Galapagos Islands, an average of one new plant specie has been introduced into the islands each year. Since 1999, this average has thus risen to an astonishing 10 species per year. At the current rate, it is estimated that introduced plant species will outnumber native species by the year 2007. Though there are about 500 invasive plant species that plague the native vegetation of the Galapagos, about thirty of them are considered aggressive and cause damage in the areas of the Park, sixty are potentially harmful, and ten are threatening to cause damage that will be very difficult to control.

Current Management
   The Charles Darwin Research Station is working on developing appropriate control methods to combat the plants that pose the largest threat to the native vegetation. They are currently studying introduced plants, their effects, distribution, and methods of control. Another objective of CDRS is to promote the control of invasive plant species as part of the improved systems of local farm management, resulting in less land being abandoned and the number of aggressive plants being reduced.

Methods for Improvement
   The task of eliminating or controlling the invasive plant species is huge. It was estimated in 1998 that it would take a team of fifteen people about fifteen to twenty years to completely eradicate quinine from Galapagos at a total cost of about $2 million US. It may not be possible to completely eliminate guava, so continuous control costing about $250,000 US would be necessary after an initial five or ten years to reduce it to levels where it is no longer a threat. The Galapagos National Park Service has virtually no funds for this, so no major control work is currently taking place. It was estimated in 1997 that the Park needs between half a million and a million dollars a year, over a five year period, to make a real impact on invasive plants. The management of the GNP by the Biopreserve committee will create an influx of funds via the International Trust. In addition, the Trust will also support the Charles Darwin Research Station’s research into the ecology of invasive species and methods for their control. The results and details of such efforts will be incorporated into the central database (proposed by the monitoring systems), both to facilitate communications, and to inform the public of current progress towards the control of invasive species.
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   In order to better monitor all those entering and exiting the Galapagos Islands, all marine and air traffic, except military planes flying onto the base on Baltra, must pass through the checkpoint on the floating airport. Requiring this will centralize the personal identification process, migration, and customs checks onto one off-island location. Therefore, no persons or cargo are permitted onto the islands until a thorough screening for invasive species and illegal immigrants has been completed.
   To ensure that all ships do pass through the floating island checkpoint, all ships registered in the Galapagos will be required to have a GPS tracking device on board so that all ships can be easily identified. Any ship that passes through the Islands without a GPS device, or that cannot be identified, will be taken by the Galapagos Coast Guard to be escorted back to the checkpoint. If resistance on behalf of the unidentified ship persists, the Coast Guard may be allowed to board and search the ship, or the boat may be heavily fined or face lose its boating license for an extended period of time. Similarly, a high fine will be instated to private fishing boats carrying illegal immigrants. These boats are generally used by illegal immigrants traveling from large cargo ships to the Galapagos in hopes of avoiding the security checkpoint. Any illegal activity before reaching the checkpoint will be monitored using the GPS trackers. If the Coast Guard suspects illegal immigrants of entering, then the Coast Guard will intercept all violating parties and escort them to the checkpoint. These violating parties will also be subject to a thorough searching for illegal immigrants or cargo. Ships will be heavily fined for failure to check at the checkpoint, but will suffer even higher consequences should the ships be found to be carrying illegal immigrants.
   The consequences of smuggling illegal immigrants will be a heavy fine and loss of their boating or aircraft license for an extended period of time. Found illegal immigrants will be sent away from the Galapagos. For more accurate control of legal residents coming in and out of the islands and in order to ensure that temporary residence cards are not "recycled" to let more than one person in at a time, electronic identity cards will be instated for all permanent and temporary residents in the Galapagos. The electronic cards will keep track of who has departed from or arrived to the islands and ensure that the same card is not used to permit more than one person into the islands at a time.
   In order to ensure that temporary residents hired by on-island employers do depart the islands once their residency has expired, employers of temporary residents will be required to pay a significant deposit to the island government, which will be returned to the employer once they have proven that the temporary employee has departed. Before any temporary residents are allowed to immigrate to the islands, both they and their employers must be able to provide proof to both the Ecuadorian government and the municipal government of the ability to purchase a return ticket for their departure once their residency has expired. Should the temporary resident not be able to afford a departure ticket upon the time of their residency expiration, the price of the departure ticket will be taken from the deposit that the employers will be required to pay for all employees that they bring in from off-island. The required deposit will encourage employers to hire from island residents. Additionally, off-island residents will be considered for employment only as a last resort, after island residents have been considered. Those companies who exceed the minimum requirement (which can be set by either the Biopreserve committee or by the Ecuadorian government) for providing employment and training opportunities to island residents will be given subsidies for their opportunity programs.

Current Management
   The current Special Law in the Galapagos limits permanent residents to those born in the Galapagos, those who have lived there for more than 5 years starting before 1998, and to the spouses and children of permanent residents. Temporary residency is only given to those whose employers can justify a need for their special skills and can afford to pay their guarantee. If the Immigration Laws of the Special Law were fully enforced, then migration to the Galapagos would be severely limited. However, immigration to the Galapagos continues to be a problem, due to issues with the Law’s enforcement. Since rewriting or editing the Special Law is not feasible because it would cause the entire Law to come under scrutiny, the best method for resolving problems with migration to the Galapagos is to better enforce the current Laws or to change the enforcement strategy.

Current Problems
   Illegal immigrants are able to come into the Galapagos using the identification cards of Galapagos citizens. In particular, the Ecuadorian Indian population can illegally enter the Galapagos by “recycling” temporary permits, which allows several relatives toillegally come into the islands using one temporary permit. Officials at the security checkpoint have much difficulty distinguishing among different members of the Ecuadorian Indian population and their photos. As a result, officials cannot tell if the person that they are letting into the Galapagos matches the photo, and so illegal immigrants are frequently let in by accident. Falsification of entry documents has also resulted in illegal immigrants being unknowingly allowed into the Galapagos. Illegal immigrants often come into the islands off of yachts and private ships, from which they can slip into the islands without passing through security checkpoints.
   Another problem with immigration control in the Galapagos is that temporary residents will enter the islands legally, but then will not leave once their temporary residency has expired. Their employers do not enforce their departure from the islands, and therefore expired temporary residents remain on the islands illegally.
   Even when illegal immigrants are found in the Galapagos, the cost of deporting them once they are found has become a problem. INGALA has identified many illegal residents, but the residents themselves often cannot afford the airfare to pay for their own departures. INGALA similarly cannot afford their departure, as INGALA has a very limited budget for controlling migration (US $250,000).
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   The committee will use money from the trust to build two new interpretation centers in Puerto Ayora and Puerto Villamil. (In addition to the center already in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.) Purpose: These centers will give tourists information about the islands and will tell them what there is to do and what they can explore. Tourists will also learn the rules and regulations for the preserve. The interpretation centers will also create more jobs for the locals.
   The trust will pay natives to host tourists, and the tourists who participate will be required to pay the trust an amount of money comparable to a night’s stay in a hotel. The trust will also give money to natives who will allow a visitor to “shadow” them in their jobs. In addition, eco-village residents will give tourists workshops in cooking and building houses. The interested residents will be trained using money from the trust. Purpose: to give tourists a realistic impression of the Galapagos and present the human side of life in the archipelago. This will also provide the natives with another source of income.
   Current park entrance fees will not be changed. If fees are raised, fewer tourists will come to the islands, but if fees were lowered, less money would enter the economy and the international trust.
   Tourism will not be capped on in any way limited. Reduced tourism would result in a loss of jobs on the islands, and the natives would turn to illegal activities such as fishing or poaching in order to make a living. Tourism is essential to raise public awareness about the value of the Galapagos.
   The tourist industries will only be able purchase produce grown on the islands. This will encourage sustainable farming on the islands and bring more money to the local economy. In addition, it will reduce the risk of invasive species.
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• Charles Darwin Research Station: Department of Botany. “Ecology and Control of Introduced Plants.” (2004).
• Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos. “Invasive Species eradication and control programs.” (2004).
• Charles Darwin Foundation. 2003 Annual Report.
• Galapagos Conservation Trust. “Current Programmes.” (2004).
• Galapagos Conservation Trust. “Project Isabela: Control of Invasive Species.” May 2004.
• Suzi Kerr, Susana Cardenas, Joanna Hendy. “Migration and the Environment in the Galapagos: An analysis of economic and policy incentives driving migration, potential impacts from migration control, and potential policies to reduce migration pressure.” Motu Working Paper 03-17. Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Feb. 2004.

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