Galapagos Islands 'facing crisis' (BBC)

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has declared the Galapagos Islands, home to dozens of endangered species, at risk and a national priority for action.

The islands, Ecuador's top tourist draw, were suffering an environmental and social crisis, he said.

Mr Correa's call came as a UN delegation was visiting to see if the islands should be declared "in danger".

The Galapagos Islands were made a World Heritage Site 30 years ago for their unique plant and animal life.

"We are pushing for a series of actions to overcome the huge institutional, environmental and social crises in the islands," Mr Correa said, adding that these problems were the result of years of neglect by previous governments.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6543653.stm

Thank Man it's Ecuador in charge of these islands, and not some FUBAR banana republic like ... well, us.

EDIT to add ye link.

for wealthy hunters.

The Galapagos has a huge development problem right now, and most of the other problems stem from it. In 1982, the population of the Galapagos was about 6000 people. Today there are more than 20,000 people living on the islands. Most are Ecuadorians who hop a tourist boat to the islands and simply stay. They bright their dogs and cats with them, they plant food to support themselves, they build homes, and they destroy native wildlife as "pests" while poisoning native plants as "weeds".

If Ecuador wants to save the islands, it needs to start by removing the islands most dangerous invasive species...humans.

:blush::blush::blush:

They need to put serious tourist restrictions in place. Visiting the Galapagos should require some sort of provisional contract, and the number of people allowed to visit should be limited to a certain number per month.

I like that image. It makes a very pointy point.

That's what did in the inhabitants of Easter Island.

Some places are not capable of supporting wasteful, destructive humans.

RIP.