Unit 5 Galápagos Tourism

Narrator The Galápagos is a collection of 13 main islands in the Pacific

Ocean. They are a thousand kilometers—or six hundred miles—
from the coast of Ecuador in South America. The Galápagos is
famous for the animal species that live here. Because the islands
are isolated, animals evolved into unique species that do not exist
anywhere else in the world.

But another species is invading these tropical islands—humans.

They’ve been living here for more than a century. But in the past
few decades, tourism has increased dramatically. And workers
from Ecuador have come, too, to open businesses and provide
services for the tourists. Some estimate the local population on the
islands has increased by as much as 300 percent.

Lauren Spurrier In the 1980s, there was a local population of about 3,000 people
living here on the islands, and today, we have a local population of
more than 25,000 people.

Narrator Tourism brings much-needed revenue. But all these people

generate pollution through vehicle emissions and energy
consumption. And like almost all humans, they create trash.
Environmentalists worry that tourism is having a negative impact
on the islands’ original inhabitants — the animals.

Recently, an oil tanker that was trying to deliver fuel to the

Galápagos crashed. The oil spill that resulted from the crash
eventually killed an estimated 60 percent of nearby iguanas.
Researchers now say even a small amount of pollution can harm
the islands’ famous animal species.

Fortunately, the oil spill turned out to be a wake-up call. Now, with
a series of ambitious projects, environmentalists and corporations
are working together with the Ecuadorian government to minimize
human impact. The goal is to end the use of fossil fuels on the
Galápagos in the next decade, and to use only renewable,
nonpolluting energy.

The goal is to make the islands “green.” For example, these

modern oil tanks replace rusty older ones that were about to fall
into the sea. Contaminants in the fuel are removed to reduce
pollution. An ultra-modern gas station has barriers to contain leaks.
There’s an ambitious plan to convert boat engines to cleaner and
 more efficient engines. And to replace cars on the islands with
low-emissions vehicles.

A World Wildlife Fund recycling campaign is teaching islanders

about the importance of preserving the natural beauty of their
islands. For example, Lourdes Peñaherrera and her family have
won a World Wildlife Fund award for reducing the amount of
waste they produce.

Lourdes Penaherrera “Not only us, but the whole community has to recycle,” she
(translated) says. “It’s to protect the environment. Almost everybody in our
neighborhood does it now.”

Narrator Environmentalists say humans will continue to have an impact on

the Galápagos, but local cooperation, combined with the help of
international environmental organizations, such as the World
Wildlife Fund, may help to control the impact. There once were no
people on these isolated islands, but now the world has arrived.
Instead of ruining the Galápagos Islands, perhaps with a united
effort, they will save them.