SCHOOLCHILDREN around the world know that Charles Darwin was inspired to devise his theory of evolution on a visit in 1835 to the Galapagos Islands, 1,000km (600 miles) off South America’s Pacific coast. Rather fewer may be aware that the tourists retracing his footsteps threaten to destroy the archipelago’s unique ecosystem.
Humans left their mark on the Galapagos even before Darwin turned up. Whalers slaughtered the giant tortoises, and the few settlers brought rats, cats and goats, which crowded out local flora and fauna. Yet the pace of depredation has picked up rapidly over the past three decades, as tourist visits have increased 14-fold to over 160,000 a year.
The tourists are partly responsible for invasive species that threaten endemic wildlife. The hundreds of thousands of chicks that are brought to the islands to feed humans transmit avian diseases to native birds. Parasitic fly larvae began attacking hatchlings of the Darwin finch a few years ago. Wild birds have caught the canary pox virus, and penguins have been stricken by avian malaria. In some cases the damage is more direct. Taxis are a particular hazard. One study found that the average Galapagos car runs over seven birds a year.
When tourism was more limited, fishing by settlers from the mainland was the main threat. The sea cucumber was hunted nearly to extinction. Many fisherman have since set up as unlicensed tourist operators. Some 40 small craft carry thousands of visitors a month on unregulated tours.
Around 95% of the islands’ original species survive. But in some cases, only just. There are merely 71 remaining specimens of Scalesia affinis, a small tree with white, daisy-like flowers, on Santa Cruz island. Many are close to an area that is being built up.
Saving the Galapagos requires action by Ecuador’s government. It has imposed new controls on immigration and imported goods, and last month reintroduced giant tortoises to Pinta island. But a deeper commitment to conservation will cost money. It would take $2.25m to rid Santiago island of invasive blackberries, for instance. Ecuador also has no plans to cap the tourist trade, which is worth $500m a year. It is even planning a new airport that could triple the number of visitors to the archipelago. Paradoxically, if word spreads of the islands’ deterioration, even more tourists may feel moved to visit them before it is too late.
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