Leanne's Webpage

MIT Mission 2008

Las Iguanas Team 2

 Mit HomePage
 
Places I've researched:

http://www.gct.org/
http://www.darwinfoundation.org/      
  
                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Fishing and Economics Websites                                                                                                   
http://www.galapagos-ch.org
http://www.ecuaworld.com/links/eclnks1.htm 
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~benbow/galapagos.html
http://www.goecuador.com/mindo/index_ed_marine.html

Individual Transferable Quotas Websites
http://www.ioes.hi.is/publications/books/b9902.html
http://www.oecd.org/home
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/534_Oceans_building%20conservation.htm


Ecotourism Websites:
www.panos.org.uk/Docs/reports/Ecotourism.doc
http://www.gct.org/jan04_2a.html
http://www.darwinfoundation.org/articles/index.html





 September 21, 2004 - Tuesday
    Hi, I just got my webpage up. In class thus far we've been having discussions about teamwork and have started researching. My group has divided up into areas of research: Economics, Environmental, and Political. I'm researching economics with Anjani and Aleksandra. We can up with a lost of possible topics to research:
                    - How much is Ecuador is profitting?                                            - world ranks, would Ecuador want lots of compensation for less sovereignty?
                    - What valuable resources are in the Galapagos?  fishing, tourism    - how has Ec. acted in the past?
                    - to what extent can its economy be reduced by international ownership of the Galapagos
                    - cost of environment, patrol, new habitats, what do people think of the economy, of poverty, of education in Ecuador
                    - everything has political effects                                                    - GDP of the country
                    - how does Fernandina and Isabela rank and contribute in the overall islands
                    - where would island profits go under international commission       - taxes of islanders
                    - how dependant is Ecuador on the Galapagos


September 29, 2004 - Wednesday
    Today in class we made lists of all the people who are affected by the Galapagos and listed problems that limit their freedom. There are lots of groups; Ecuadorian gov't, GOs, fishermen, inhabitants, NGOs, scientists, tourists, park rangers, tourism industry.Hi I suck


October 6, 2004 - Wednesday
    Today in class we went over the pros and cons of having a biopreserve. A major question was how to make it international. So we need to see who wants to participate and who will contribute, look at current world organizations for examples, look at how it will play in Quito to see if Ecuador will be cinvinced, find out where money is currently coming from in the Galapagos, and develop a prospectus.

October 18, 2004 - Monday
    Some opinions on the economic situation of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands:
    The Ecuadorian economy is struggling. They are in a recession and seems incapable of handling many of their problems. Because of the struggle of living in a recession, those in control of government have basically thrown open the door to all sorts of foreign investment, many of which is not healthy for the Galapagos. It is clear, however, from economic trends and past problems, that Galapagos protection will continue to steadily decline. For much of this past year, fishermen have been striking to pressure the gov't into reducing some of the limits on their fishing. The fishermen have acted hostily towards the Galapagos National Park, blocking access to the park and even forcing rangers to flee. And this is only half their fight. Numerous occassions of illegal fishing and illegal tourism boats have been caught in restricted zones of the Galapagos Nat'l Park, all acts performed for the purpose of gaining some
economic leverage. The region around the Galapagos is becoming an economic pressure cooker.
     The Galapagos Nat'l Park is not short of positive feedback from visitors.
Galapagos Conservation Trust says that "the Charles Darwin Foundation has done
a great job in ensuring that visitors can enjoy the wonderful and unique
biodiversity of the islands." Kofi Annan praised the Galapagos Islands for
"teaching the rest of the world much about conservation." This may be true, but                                   
the park can't hold out for long against the onslaught of ecotourism.
Ecotourism is a monetary gem for developing countries such as Ecuador, but
investing too heavily in the Galapagos does not reflect responsible gov't.
Ecotourism leads to "severe environmental degradation and disrupts local
cultures" (2 of 22). Also, the profits from the Galapagos apparently are not
being used responsibly. Even lesser forms of commerce are threatening nature,
such as mining and oil, which comprise at least 40% of Ecuadorian exports.
There is inflation, devaluation of local currency, and high costs of living,
and "only a tiny slice of that is directly invested in environmental
conservation." It is true that "without intervention the forces of the free
market will play in the hands of foreign companies) (14 of 22).
      Ecuador has been even more irresponsible involving legislation of the Galapagos. Clearly it hsa greatly reduced its concerns over environmental matters ever since a new piece of legislation was passed that moved much
tourism authority and jurisdictin over to the Ministry of Tourism, rather than the Gala Nat'l Park. This severely diminishes the GNP's ability to protect the Islands and "puts at risk the fragile coastal marine ecosystems." (16 of 22)
       The Galapagos is a virtual dollar economy, but clearly Ecuador could benefit from some assisstance with its management. For example, in 1999 political uncertainty until President Mahuah and attempts to privatize state
industries caused Ecuador's GDP to fall more than 30%.
       If the government continues to make negative decisions regarding conservation, it will therefore invoke a negative domino effect throughout Ecuador's economy. The park will lose funding from the private organization
that donate to it, and this will further weaken the park's stability, and its ability to fend off an overwhelming influx of tourists. In the long run, Ecuador will exhaust the only trump card of its economy, ecotourism - The
Galapagos Islands. It is therefore in its best interest to continue a steady policy of environmental protection, one that will remain steady, perhaps under an international organization of funds, with leadership independent of
Ecuadorian tourism laws.


October 31, 2004 - Sunday
    A summary of fishing conflicts and a possible solution to economic crises in the Galapagos:

Fishermen protest regarding restraints in the marine reserve that are hurting                                            
their income. If such political tensions continue,
the Galapagos could be placed on the "Threatened Patrimonies" list and lose
international funding. Basically, there is a major conflict between those who
value Nature and recognize the need to preserve it, and those who are ignorant
and think that Nature will always be able to renew itself.
The webpage of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, http://www.gct.org/, also contains articles about illegal fishing. In the article “Fishermen Picket Galapagos National Park” fishermen called a strike in February 2004 to demand that certain fishing regulations be repealed. They even blocked access to Galapagos National Park offices and threatened with violence. Illegal fishing boats are frequently being arrested. The GNP patrol boat “Guadalupe River” has been especially effective in capturing fishermen and protecting the marine reserve. Imagine, then, how much more effective the GNP could patrol the waters if they had more funding, personnel, and equipment.

So how can this drama over fishing conflicts be solved? Individual transferable quotas could be a workable solution.

Individual transferable quotas (ITQ’s) are an economic approach to dealing with industries that risk depletion of natural resources or produce like fishing. Here is an overview of how they work: ITQs work like stocks. Fishermen purchase the rights to fish a certain amount of a set fishing quota allotted by the government – a “Total Allowable Catch” (TAC). Then, the fishermen can only fish the amount of fish for which they bought the rights to. They basically define property rights and help to conserve the industry. In theory, this will wipe-out over-fishing since there is no incentive for it – fishermen can gain no profit from fishing in excess about their quota limit because this would increase the TAC and cause inflation. ITQ’s minimize overfishing, help the “reduction of subsidies to production, infrastructure and vessels, and the removal of barriers of trade; vessel buy-back programs: incentives to conserve and sustainably use the surrounding ecosystem and particularly non-commercial species” (http://www.oecd.org/LongAbstract/0,2546,en_2649_34285_2078040_1_1_1_1,00.html). ITQs are politically acceptable and advocate a type of “Free Market Environmentalism” (http://www.ioes.hi.is/publications/books/b9902.html). ITQs have worked successfully in New Zealand, Maine, Iceland, and many other places and could have great potential to relieve the fishing strikes that are plaguing the Galapagos. ITQs can definitely work in the Galapagos Islands: “it was found that ITQs work best in small, isolated fisheries where there is some social cohesion and where education and re-training programs are offered if necessary” (http://www.oecd.org/LongAbstract/0,2546,en_2649_34285_2078040_1_1_1_1,00.html). Therefore, not only would ITQs balance and help sustain the Galapagos economy in a safe and environmentally-sound fashion, but they also would heavily emphasize the need to education and conservation awareness. Education is key.


And then basically, the other main economic issue is the value of ecotourism to
Ecuador. Without it, its economy would be almost nonexistent. Because                                                   
ecotourism in the Galapagos is so vital to the Ecuadorian economy, this causes
the government to waver from following environmental laws. An international
commission providing aid and guidance to running the Galapagos would assist
Ecuador in relieving its dependence on tourism income.


Also, the economic situation of Ecuador compared to the rest of South America in
2000 was actually one of best compared to other countries of similar size in
terms of exports and imports (Hemisphere Database).