| Fast Facts |
location
620 miles off the coast of Ecuador
ecoregion
Galápagos Island xeric scrub; marine habitats including mangroves, coral reefs
project size
18.8 million acres
public lands
Galápagos National Park
partners
Galápagos National Park, the Charles Darwin Foundation, Fundación Natura
natural events
climate turns tropical, January–May | |
 | |
 |
In this historic living laboratory where Darwin’s theory of natural selection was born, only human intervention can undo the damage caused by people and invasive species. |
|
 |
Sea lions in the waters of the Galápagos.
© Doug Perrine/Seapics.com |
|
| Upon approach, the Galápagos Islands hardly evoke paradise. The parched and seemingly barren islands of volcanic debris appear hostile to life itself. But as you draw nearer, you see sea lions sunbathing on the shore, iguanas diving from boulders into the sea and blue-footed boobies wheeling in the azure sky above. Farther inland, famed giant tortoises lumber across the landscape as delicate flamingos feed at an inland pond. And Darwin’s renowned finches, along with vermilion flycatchers, flit among the sheltering mangroves. |
| Perhaps no other place on Earth better represents the science of biodiversity and the need for conservation than the Galápagos Islands. When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species by Natural Selection in 1859, using the Galápagos as his primary laboratory, this remote and uninhabited volcanic archipelago |
Giant tortoise and thermal vents.
© Mitsuaki Iwago/Minden Pictures |
|
of 128 islands, including 13 major islands, was forever changed. Most of the documented wildlife still inhabits the islands today, but so do more than 16,000 permanent human residents (up from zero in Darwin’s day) with more than 70,000 annual visitors. All bring traffic, pollution, resource depletion and invasive alien species—the latter a plague for the isolated islands’ native species. | |
|
After years of supporting local Ecuadorian partners and the Charles Darwin Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy is now playing a more active role in creating a long-term, comprehensive strategy for conservation in the Galápagos. Already we have conducted several workshops on conservation planning, ecotourism and conflict resolution with partners responsible for managing the marine reserve and the terrestrial park. Soon the Galápagos reefs will be a demonstration site for how El Niño phenomena and climate change affect relatively undamaged coral systems. In urbanized areas, such as those on Santa Cruz Island, the Conservancy will also spearhead a private lands initiative through which land will be kept in private ownership while legal restrictions prevent development and ecologically harmful activities.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Ecuador. One third of The Nature Conservancy's country programs are islands, and we have been working on island conservation for decades. Read more about our island conservation efforts.
|
|
| Conservation Profile |
targets
coastal lagoons and mangroves, giant tortoise, coral communities, 6 species of orchids, blue-footed booby, frigate bird, hammerhead shark, sea lion, iguana, whales, sparrow hawk
stresses
invasive species, unsustainable use of natural resources, urbanization, global climate change
strategies
combat invasive species, influence land-use planning, restore ecosystems, foster sustainable fishing practices, encourage conservation management of public lands, establish a private lands conservation program
results
locally based network of conservation groups created; law enacted to keep marine reserve usage fees in local hands for park management | | | | |
