Policy: Putting it Together

    The Galapagos National Park (GNP) was created by the Ecuadorian Government in 1959, when they set aside 90% of the land area of the Galapagos Islands for this park. By 1967, a park service had been set up to help manage the park system (Galapagos Online). This National Park mainly dealt with terrestrial issues, and because the ecosystems of the flora and fauna on the islands were so interconnected with the marine ecosystems of the surrounding waters, there quickly became a need to extend the park into the aquatic realm. However, it was not until 1998 that the Galapagos Marine Reserve was founded. The Galapagos National Park works closely with the Charles Darwin Foundation to maintain a healthy ecosystem throughout the Galapagos Islands. In addition, there are many grants and supports offered to the GNP by the United Nations and UNESCO.

Galapagos National Park:
    The Park is run by the Director, which in recent years has not been a very stable job. Currently there is no Director, but only an Interim Director. The Park is maintained by the Guides, who show people around. There are a few rules for the park:            

1. No plant, animal, or remains of such (including shells, bones, and pieces of wood), or other natural objects should not be removed or disturbed.
   
2. Be careful not to transport any live material to the islands, or from island to island.
   
3. Do not take any food to the uninhabited islands, for the same reason.
   
4. Do not touch or handle the animals.
   
5. Do not feed the animals. It can be dangerous to you, and in the long run would destroy the animals' social structure and breeding habits.
   
6. Do not startle or chase any animal from its resting or nesting spot.
   
7. Stay within the areas designated as visiting sites.
   
8. Do not leave any litter on the islands, or throw any off your boat.
   
9. Do not deface the rocks.
   
10. Do not buy souvenirs or objects made of plants or animals from the islands.
    
11. Do not visit the islands unless accompanied by a licensed National Park Guide.
    
12. Restrict your visits to officially approved areas.
    
13. Show your conservationist attitude

These rules are enforced strictly by the guides to help maintain the park system (Galapagos Online).

Galapagos Online. 2004. Galapagos National Park. October 24, 2004. http://www.galapagosonline.com/Galapagos_Natural_History/National_Park/National_Park.html

Galapagos Marine Reserve:
    Founded in March 1998, the Galapagos Marine Resereve is managed by a the Galapagos National Park Service along with local stakeholders. This group is under the authority of four ministries from the Ecuadorian government, along with three stakeholdergroups (tourism, fisheries, and a science/biodiversity/education group). Along with the establishment of the Reserve as a protected area, the boundary of the reserve was increased to 40 miles around the Galapagos archipelago, inside of which only tourism and "artisanal" fishing is allowed. Industrial fishing is not allowed in the Reserve (Bensted-Smith). Around 1200 fishermen currently are allowed to fish in Reserve area. However, they may not fish on the 17% of the coastline designated as "no-take" zones (UNESCO).
    Illegal fishing is obviously still a problem. Many conflicts have arisen over complaints of the abuse by fisheries. Fishing boats are found illegally fishing in the Reserve on a regular basis, and it seems that their is a lack of resources to effectively police the area. In September of 2002, there were only two patrol boats policing the large area that makes up the Reserve (BBC). These boats are manned by personnel from the Ecuadorian Navy as well as park rangers. Unfortunately, there have been instances where the Navy has released boats that were seized for illegal fishing, which implicates the government in the illegal fishing trade. Furthermore, the government stance has been weak against the undying pressure from the fishing industry to increase the fishing quota, which doesn't help the environmental aspect of the fishing issue. All this combined has made the status of the marine environment a threatened one (UNESCO).

Cawardine, Mark. September 2002. "The Galapagos Islands." BBC Radio. October 24,2004. http://db.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/nature_20020923.shtml (BBC)
Bented-Smith, Robert. April 1998. "The Special Law for Galapagos." Noticias de Galapagos, No.9. October 24, 2004. http://www.darwinfoundation.org/articles/n5900049816.html
UNESCO. 2001. "World Heritage Nomination - IUCN Technical Evaluation. October 24, 2002. "http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/001bis.pdf (UNESCO)

Charles Darwin Foundation:
    The Charles Darwin Foundation was founded in 1959 to help preserve the ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands. The CDF is in charge of the Charles Darwin Research Station, which conducts scientific research, much of the time in partnership with the GNPS. The CDF works closely with the Ecuadorian Government and advises them upon principles of environmental conservation. The Foundation Secretary General is located in Quito, and directs the efforts over 200 scientists, researchers, and volunteers. The headquarters of the CDF, are, however, located in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels (By-Laws).
    The governing of the CDF is taken care of mostly by the General Assembly of the CDF at a meeting in Ecuador. The General Assembly takes care of changing by-laws and approve recommendations and budget concerns brought up by the Board of Directors, whom they also vote into office. The Board of Directors consists of nine members, one of whom must be Belgian and one of whom must be Ecuadorian, and is presided over by the President of the Board. The duties of the Board include setting budgets, appointing scientific commissions, and establishing relations with other scientific or environmental groups. The last leg of the triumvirate in charge of the CDF is the Executive Director. The job of the Executive Director is to supervise the completion of day to day tasks that will allow the CDF to continue their actions, as well as drawing up the budget and being the formal representative of the CDF (By-Laws).
    The Foundation also provides many necessary controls to the Galapagos ecosystem. Many of their projects work directly towards the stability of a healthy ecosystem. One such program for the Control and Eradication fo Invasive Species is funded for by the United Nations Foundation. The CDF works together with UNESCO to use the $4 million grant to help remove the non-native species introduced onto the islands (Fact Sheet). In addition, the Foundation works to educate the Galapagos community about the problems of conservation and maintaining the healthy ecosystem.

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2001. Fact Sheet. October 23, 2004. http://www.darwinfoundation.org/invasive/FactSheet.html
Charles Darwin Foundation. 2001. By-Laws of the Charles Darwin Foundation. October 23, 2004. http://www.darwinfoundation.org/about/statues.html

UNESCO/World Heritage Site Status:
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization functions as a "standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues," including those of conservation and preservation (UNESCO). The Galapagos Islands were granted World Heritage Site status in 1978, and that status was extended to the Marine Reserve in 2001. Having this designation  of World Heritage Site means that the islands are considered extremely important to humanity, and will be able to recieve benefits in terms of financial contributions that will help guarantee the proper administration and conservation of this site in order that it be preserved for posterity.

UNESCO. 2004. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. October 24,2004. http://whc.unesco.org/