Rampant tourism is causing so much damage to the Galapagos that the islands are in danger of losing their status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A UNESCO mission to the Galapagos has confirmed what Ecuador鈥檚 president, Rafael Correa, warned last week: there are serious threats to the islands.
Correa is the first Ecuadorean leader to openly declare that the archipelago is at risk and should be a national priority. He said there was an urgent need 鈥渢o overcome the grave institutional, environmental and social crises that the islands are currently going through鈥�. It is a risky move for a politician, given that more than 120,000 tourists visited the Galapagos last year, bringing in an estimated $400 million.
If tourism continues to grow at today鈥檚 rate, then by 2021 more than 400,000 people will visit the islands each year. UNESCO cites the 鈥渦ncontrolled鈥� expansion of the tourism industry as one of the main threats facing the archipelago.
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The recent assault of the director of the Galapagos National Park Service by members of the Ecuadorean air force, who were allegedly running illicit tourist activities, is a reminder of the underlying tensions in the islands.
If UNESCO decides the Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Marine Reserve are in danger of losing World Heritage Site status, the World Heritage Committee will need to develop a plan of action to address the threat. UNESCO will announce its decision at a meeting in New Zealand in June.
