In the past two decades colonization and tourism to the Galapagos Islands have increased rapidly. Although the National Park accounts for 95% of the island’s land area, there are serious problems with settler encroachment. Ten years ago the population of the islands was around 6,000, of which some 2,500 lived on Santa Cruz, the center of the tourist industry. The present population of the islands is thought to be approaching 20,000, with an annual growth rate of eight percent.
An even greater threat to the environment is the animals and plants human visitors and colonists have brought with them. Feral cats, dogs, rats, pigs, goats, donkeys, deer and cattle have contributed to the destruction of eggs, hatchlings and the vegetation, on which all the native species depend. On Espanola the tortoise population was almost extinct by the 1960s. A captive-breeding program for tortoises was started at Darwin Station, and the goats were eliminated. Young tortoises have now been returned to their ancestral island and the unique subspecies has been saved from extinction.
Served by some 100 cruise ships, the fast-growing tourist market also threatens the ecological balance. The National Parks Authority imposes strict control on where visitors are allowed to land, and all visitors are strongly requested to obey common-sense rules, such as not to stray from the paths, nor feed or touch the birds and animals. Touching a baby sea lion, for instance, will probably result in its death since its mother will reject it.
| |Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton||| |
