ON ONE side of the gates is a mob of fishermen, many armed with sticks. They are trying to force their way in. On the other side are national park wardens, trying to keep them out. The wardens鈥� new boss has come to resolve the crisis. Except he is standing shoulder to shoulder with the fishermen on the wrong side of the gates.
Welcome to Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galapagos Islands, which is at the centre of one of the most significant conservation battles of recent times 鈥� an environmental war being fought among fishermen, politicians, conservationists and park wardens. At stake is the future of one of the most important ecological sites in the world, whose unique plants and animals helped inspire Darwin鈥檚 theory of evolution.
The confrontation at the gates followed the appointment in September of Fausto Cepeda as director of the Galapagos National Park. His appointment did not please employees, who literally wear the park on their sleeves 鈥� a crest depicting a giant tortoise stretching its long neck above the sleek silhouette of a hammerhead shark. Cepeda was the eighth director to be appointed in two years. He was also known to have ties with the fishing industry, which has been blamed for damaging the unique marine ecosystems of the Galapagos.
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More than 300 national park rangers responded by going on strike, with many barricading themselves inside their offices. They said that Cepeda鈥檚 appointment, coming on top of a rapid turnover of directors, threatens conservation efforts in the park. They appealed to the Ecuadorian government, which controls the islands, to take notice.
On 22 September Cepeda, backed by local fisherman, forced his way into the park offices. After just 20 minutes there he left, never to return as director. That morning, a delegation of park representatives had travelled to Quito, Ecuador鈥檚 capital, to meet the environment minister, who promptly sacked Cepeda and promised that conservation groups would be consulted over future appointments. Three weeks ago, Rogelio Guaycha, a local congressman and representative of Galapagos fishing interests, was arrested after a judge identified him as leader of the group that forced its way into the park offices.
鈥淚n a bid to raise quotas, the fishermen have sabotaged the lucrative tourism industry and held giant tortoises to ransom鈥�
But while the wardens won that day鈥檚 battle, they may still lose the war. Conservationists and fishermen have been at odds in the Galapagos for years, and in a bid to force the government to raise fishing quotas the fishermen have sabotaged the lucrative tourism industry and held giant tortoises to ransom.
In July this year, they stepped up their action, threatening to release goats onto the islands, undoing all the painstaking work to eradicate them. They even threw Molotov cocktails at conservationists in a reaction to the government鈥檚 decision to impose a two-year ban on sea-cucumber fishing, starting next year. This year鈥檚 quota of 4 million sea cucumbers is 10 times the number marine scientists say is sustainable. There are claims that the quota was set so high to placate the fishermen so that they would not strike during the Miss Universe pageant, which Ecuador hosted in May. The fishing community is a powerful constituency on the Galapagos, and has the sympathy of the majority of the 12,500 residents. The sea cucumbers have such a high profile because they are a prize catch, sold to the seafood markets of east Asia and the US.
Conservationists are concerned about the quantity of wildlife that is being removed, both legally and illegally, from the seas around the islands. We do not understand the role sea cucumbers play in the marine ecosystem, says Ken Collins, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton in the UK, who carried out research on the islands in the late 1990s. 鈥淲e know they recycle nutrients into the water column and rework the sediment. They must be important.鈥�
Over the past six years, an exhaustive study by the Charles Darwin Foundation, a conservation organisation on the islands, found that sea cucumbers dropped from almost 35 animals per 100 square metres in 2001 to 7.5 in 2004, a crash of nearly 80 per cent (Ecological Modelling, vol 172, p 383). 鈥淭his poses serious doubts as to the short-term viability of the fishery,鈥� says the author of the study, Maria Veronica Toral-Granda at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the island of Santa Cruz.
Fishermen are also campaigning to use long lines to fish for tuna and sharks. They want a pilot programme to investigate whether the lines would damage the marine ecosystem. Conservationists oppose this, claiming that a wealth of research has already shown that long lines kill large numbers of other species along with the intended catch.
鈥淪ea cucumbers dropped from almost 35 animals per 100 square metres in 2001 to 7.5 in 2004, a crash of 80 per cent鈥�
Overfishing could be harming some of the animals that live on the islands, as well as those in the sea surrounding them. Take one of the island鈥檚 birds, the blue-footed booby. When its numbers crashed in 1982 and 1983, blame fell on El Ni帽o, a weather phenomenon which stunts the flow of cold, nutrient-laden water, forcing fish deeper where they are out of reach of birds that prey on them.
But over the past two years, the boobies have again failed to breed successfully. 鈥淭he problem is fishing,鈥� says Maria Ramos, a naturalist guide on the islands for more than 20 years. The climate cannot be the reason this time because it has hardly changed. Nor could illness be the cause. Any disease would almost certainly affect adults as well as young. Yet the adults are still producing young, which then die, leaving the nesting grounds strewn with dead or starving young birds.
While there is no direct evidence that this is because of a lack of fish, there is little money to find out. Several large projects funded by the Charles Darwin Foundation, for instance, will end in the next few years, and beyond that funding looks uncertain.
The fishermen say they are fighting for their jobs, and that their industry brings in important revenue. This doesn鈥檛 impress some of the islands鈥� other interests, who say the fishing industry has reneged on its promise to preserve the islands.
鈥淎ll groups agreed to guarantee sustainable development in the Galapagos Islands,鈥� says Elisabeth Grabenwoger of the Galapagos Chamber of Tourism. 鈥淏ut in recent times the fishermen seem to be of the opinion that they are the only ones that suffer from the imposed regulations.鈥�
This year, 100,000 paying tourists will visit the islands. But while tourism brings money that is used to boost the conservation effort, it also has to be carefully managed. The visitors鈥� clothes and boots carry unwelcome alien species of plants and insects. At a spot search this year, botanists found 300 alien plant species in Puerto Ayora alone, 40 new to the islands. Most are ornamental species that cannot escape into the wild, but a proportion have the potential to become established. 鈥淪ome will spread widely, causing harm to native plant communities,鈥� says Chris Buddenhagen, a researcher working on invasive plants in the islands. 鈥淲e can only hope that people will respond positively to the threat and stop participating in illegal movement of plants to and between islands.鈥�
Climate change also poses a threat to the biodiversity of the Galapagos. If the seas around the islands get warmer, due to stronger and more frequent El Ni帽os, then many species could rapidly be driven to extinction, Collins says.
Some economists say the solution lies in charging tourists more, to bring in extra revenue that could be used to compensate the fishing industry if catches are restricted or banned. This month, the Ecuadorian government and Galapagos National Park posted online their latest plans for managing the park. It promotes a 鈥渞ational usage鈥� of the islands鈥� environment, enabling 鈥渟ocioeconomic development and cultural equality, solidarity and sustainability鈥�. Local people and other interested parties are encouraged to take part in a public consultation.
鈥淭he Galapagos stands as a flagship model for conservation,鈥� says Tui De Roy, resident, wildlife photographer and board member of the Charles Darwin Foundation. 鈥淭here is an awful lot more to save here than anywhere else in the world. But there is also a lot more to lose.鈥�
