Galapagos Islands Threatened by the Wrong Kind of Tourism

Eco-Disaster in Progress as Galapagos Islands Reel Under Population Pressures

The Galapagos Islands are one of the Earth's true treasures. The Pacific island chain that makes up the Galapagos Islands is home to many different species of life that are found nowhere else in the world. It was the diversity of species on the various islands that helped inspire Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, forever changing man's fundamental view of life on Earth. Aside from being home to the Earth's most endangered species, the giant Pinta Island Tortoise, the unique natural heritage of the Galapagos Islands is itself endangered.

Eco-Tourism in the Galapagos Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

For many who fancy themselves to be eco-tourists, visiting the Earth's greatest natural wonders while supporting the local economies and helping to preserve the delicate balance of nature in the remotest parts of the Earth, the Galapagos Islands are almost always at the top of the list of places to visit. However, the popularity of the Galapagos Islands as a tourist destination is helping to contribute to their environmental ruin.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the Galapagos Islands to be a World Heritage Site for, among other things, containing "the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."

UNESCO's World Heritage status seeks to help underscore the importance of preserving such places as the Galapagos Islands as a part of our global cultural heritage to be passed on to future generations. However, a subset of places listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list are also listed as being in danger of losing the properties for which they were selected.

Galapagos Islands Under Threat as Tourism Wealth is Siphoned to Ecuador